Flight to Forever
by Tenarus
Summary: AU of 1x18 "The Stable Boy" in which Snow White keeps a secret and Regina and Daniel just might get their happily ever after.  Regina/Daniel and Regina/Snow Friendship.
1. The Lonely Forest

_**AN**_: _It's been quite a length of time, years in fact, since I wrote anything, so please forgive any errors. The itch to write has been clawing at me for some time now, and "The Stable Boy" just hit the right note to stir that part of me to sing. So, without further adieu, and with great love for the writers of "Once Upon a Time" and the wondrously fabulous, ridiculously beautiful Lana Parrilla for bringing the deliciously evil Queen to life, I give you this AU of Episode 18 for your perusal._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show. I'm merely borrowing them for a while without thought or intent for my own personal gain._

**Chapter 1** - The Lonely Forest

The steady pounding of the horse's hooves echoed through the forest all around, a constant reminder of the flight being undertaken. Miles had passed in a blur of tension and fatigue. They had been riding for almost 3 days, stopping only to rest, sleep briefly, feed and water themselves and their horse.

In the blackness of the night, the forest seemed a sinister, prescient, living thing, foreboding in it's dark intensity. Legends of this place spread far abroad, of the Lonely Forest and it's seeming ability to draw out of you the things that you fear the most and make them as real to you as the beating of your heart within your chest or the feel of bark of the trees under the tips of your fingers. It was for this very reason they were agreed not to stop at all until they were through the treacherous mass of living shadows and growling trees.

Their horse sped swiftly down the narrow, winding road, the only path through the supposedly cursed forest. It seemed to Regina as if with each pounding beat of it's hooves, the fears harbored within hers mind were given life by the twisted, gnarled trees and inky blackness. The whipping wind, the hooting of owls, and the rustling branches of the trees began, as the miles past and the night darkened, to take on an ominous, deep, rumbling humanoid voice.

"She knows," one said. Repeating the very words she that were flitting feverishly through her mind. "She'll find us," said another, this one sharper and higher in pitch than the last. Her heart constricted.

"She'll tear the Realms apart if she must," one particularly sinister voice concluded, and as they began to blend together in the cacophony of noise. The echoes seemed to grow in unity and intensity until a single voice emerged. "She'll never stop searching. Her magic is dark and powerful! 'Disobedience is a crime no true parent can leave unpunished,' she always said. She will find us and she will kill us both. Find us, she will, kill us, she will. Find us! Kill us! Grind our hearts into dust!"

The voices reached a terrible crescendo and Regina shivered down to her bones, clutching more tightly to Daniel and pressing her face into the hard planes of his back. But as she closed her eyes, in the chilly night air, she could hear the terrifying sound of her mother's cackling laugh swirling around them. She could see in her mind's eye those familiar sharp, unyielding features and stony brown eyes. She could hear the unmistakably cold voice. "You may run, my daughter," the shrill voice declared. "But you cannot hide from me. I have sacrificed far too much for it all to be thrown away on such frivolous emotion. Love is fleeting. Power is eternal, and I shall have it, one way or another."

Jaw clenched, tears leaking unbidden from her eyes, Regina breathed into the black woolen coat that she had taken from her father's wardrobe for Daniel to wear. "You're wrong," she whispered forcefully in response. "Love is the greatest power of all, and I will gladly pay any price it brings." She lightly rubbed her cheek into Daniel's back as her she forced her mind to replay the events that had transpired to set their flight in motion.

It had been almost two years ago that her father had brought him onto their estate to care for their horses and to give her the lessons she had been so stubbornly avoiding, but desperately required. She was nineteen years old and had just experience the first real loss of her young life. Their previous, long-employed stable keeper, Gerald, had passed away the previous fall of consumption, and it had devastated Regina. He had cared for their horses for as long as she had been alive, and though she so loved the animals, she had never had the courage to learn to ride. However, that did not preclude her from sharing her confidence with Gerald. He became like a second father to her. She shared all the hopes and dreams that she could not share with her father, due mainly to her father's fear of her mother. And so, when he passed, she lost all desire to ever learn to ride. All through the remainder of the fall and that winter, she grieved his death deeply. Her heart, already slightly hardened by her mother's coldness and ambition, turned to stone. Her father's affectionate attention was all that kept her from spiraling into a dangerous abyss.

That all changed when Daniel arrived. He was, of course, very shy in the beginning, as anyone of his degree of modesty tends to be, and that suited Regina just fine. But as the days and weeks passed, he grew more comfortable around her and her father, though around her mother, he always remained courteously wary. She would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him at first sight, but she had been, due to her state of grief, reticent to form any sort of new attachment to anyone. She had her father and that was quite enough.

She often mused, after they had come to know each other better, how confused he must have been of his employer's strange daughter, whose occasional defiance of her mother stood in stark contrast to the shrinking violet she seemed to be around him. Within a space of seconds, she would be two completely different people, one telling her mother she was content to spend time at the stables whether she liked it or not, and the other refusing even basic communication beyond single syllable words when Daniel spoke to her. But he never took her aversion to heart. It seemed to her that when he looked into her eyes, he saw beyond the facade to the hurt that lurked deep within her chocolate brown eyes.

She saw in him, and witnessed in him firsthand through his behavior, a never-ending store of compassion, and he had many interesting stories of horseback adventures with which he happily regaled her at every opportunity. Before 3 months had passed, Regina found that the walls she had build around her heart were, to her simultaneous delight and horror, much less impressive than before. Kindness had been the flowing river, from his heart to hers, that cut through the mountain of impenetrable granite she had piled around her heart. It wasn't very long after her realization that she began to actually respond to him with meaningful words. If for nothing else but his tender patience and friendship, she could hope never repay him, and that is what made falling in love with him so very easy.

She began spending as much time as propriety would allow at the stables, and with her heart beginning to be unlocked, her bravery naturally followed. She began her riding lessons almost a year after Daniel's arrival at the Mills' estate. Being the precocious person that she was - as her father loved pointing out - it came nearly without effort. Even Daniel, who had, as he like to jest, been born on a saddle, complimented that she was a natural. She had always shared a bond with horses, a natural kinship, perhaps due to her yearning to be free and wild, to let her hair fly carelessly in the wind and forget the rules and etiquette that was demanded of a lady of station. When she rode with Daniel, that innermost desire came gloriously to fruition. Every day for an hour or two, Regina could be herself. She could laugh and holler and whoop with delight as she rode at his side. The year of their secret courtship was the freest, happiest time of her life.

Then came Snow White, a little girl on a runaway horse, who stole her heart and shared her secret. It was Snow's innocent insistence that if she loved Daniel, she should marry him that awakened her to reality. A seed of hope that had taken root when she fell in love with Daniel sprung to life at Snow White's unconditional support. Regina was amazed. This was a girl, quite like her, who loved her father with all of her heart and wanted nothing more for him than his happiness. Yet, in the short time Snow had know her, she had loved her enough to want her as her own mother. Even so, this little girl recognized how much she loved Daniel, and Snow's selflessness in wanting such happiness for her had been a true inspiration. In that moment, Regina knew with certainty where once before she had only half-heartedly told Daniel that if they wanted any chance at happiness, they had to leave, and they could not delay a moment longer than necessary.

With tender affection for the girl, she had sworn Snow to secrecy. She had Snow's eyes and searched them deeply, imploring her to grasp the gravity of what was transpiring, and what she saw took her breath away. She knew without a doubt, if she lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, she would never forget what she glimpsed in Snow White's eyes. She saw a purity, bravery, and understanding that belied such youth, and she knew that this was a girl who was destined to do great things and to love great loves. She knew that her secret was safe with Snow and that the brave girl would take it to her grave if necessary.

"Don't worry, Regina," Snow had smiled sweetly, cupping Regina's face gingerly with her small hands. "I'll make sure my Papa understands once we're gone, and I won't say a word to your Mama. I promise." But then Snow's little chin began to tremble and a few tears rolled down her white cheeks.

"What's the matter, darling?" Regina asked her, searching the girl's eyes compassionately, just as Daniel had done so often for her.

"Will I ever see you again?" the little girl asked, both hope and fear warring in her eyes. She sniffled adorably. "I don't want to lose you. I love you."

Love for the girl began to swell inside of Regina's chest so quickly she thought she might burst into tears herself. Her heart, it seemed, lacked room inside her body. "Oh, darling," she sighed, gathering the girl into her arms. "If there are any happy endings in this world, this will not be the last time we see one another. I will find you, Snow White, somehow, some way. Do you believe me?"

Pulling back slightly, Snow peered sagely into Regina's eyes, searching. When the silence had stretched for interminable seconds, the girl grinned from ear to ear having found what she was looking for. Then she threw her arms around Regina's neck and whispered in her ear: "I believe you."

And so with her heart hammering in her chest and tears gathering in her eyes, Regina had then gathered herself and took Snow White in her arms and carried her back to the stables where she instructed Daniel to gather some changes of clothes for himself that he kept packed away in the stables and to wait for her. She and Snow then returned to the manor where she escorted the raven-haired little girl to her room and tucked her into bed with a hug and kiss and reassuring promises that they would meet again.

Then, with quite haste, she began to surreptitiously gather the supplies she was mentally calculating they would need and could carry on a long journey by horseback. She began in her rooms, gathering two changes of clothing for herself and her favorite sky-blue winter coat and white cotton blanket to shield her, at least partially, from the cold nights to come. Carefully, making as little noise as possible, she then crept into the room her father kept apart from her mother and took his favorite black woolen jacket, then left the room, closing the door behind her, and crept toward the stairs.

As she approached the staircase that lead down to the foyer of their home, she was startled still by voices, and paused around the corner out of sight. She recognized them easily. Her mother, father, and King Leopold were chatting amiably as they walked about the upcoming nuptials and Regina could not help the slight revulsion that passed through her. However kind King Leopold was, she did not love him and she knew she never could.

For a moment, she was afraid they would head into the parlor and sit and chat and continue their well laid- out plans for her future. But they passed on through the foyer and into the hallway that lead to the wing of the manor opposite of her rooms, and where she knew they would not hear her leaving. After the noise of their laughter and chatting faded away, Regina did not hesitate. She arose and headed quickly down the stairs, and made her way to the kitchen.

She found it thankfully empty - for the staff had hours before retired to their chambers - and packed food items that would last at least several days or longer: fresh bread, baked cookies, and what fruit she could find that had not yet ripened. She found several fresh skins of water and wine hanging on the wall across from the cupboards and stuffed them into a pack with her clothes, then headed out of the kitchen and back into the foyer, where she opened the front door and slipped out into the night unseen and unheard.

Delight and excitement filled her with equal measures of fear and terror. She had defied her mother before, but never like this, never in such a brazen and permanent manner. Her mother's heavy hand had always been the most steady influence in Regina's life, even beyond her father's love and compassion. It seemed at times that she could never escape the reach of her mother's iron hand and ever watchful eyes. Molded since birth to become realize her mother's own machinations for power, Regina had never known what it was like to live her life for her own pleasure. All she ever did was for her mother's sake and at her mother's convenience.

Once she turned 16, however, Regina's stubborn streak made itself known. Without fail, she had always to do her chores and lessons, clean her room, turn her bed down, learn how to ballroom dance, learn how to eat properly as a lady does, learn how to sit as a lady does, and she had always to dress herself appropriately for every occasion. Little acts of defiance had been hammered down with fury unequal to the transgression and always with a demonstration of her mother's growing magical powers.

There was one particular time she had cleaned her room, but left to the stables to visit Gerald before she had turned her bed down. Her mother lashed her palms until she couldn't bend her fingers and sealed her magically in her room for a day with no bread or water. She never left her bed unmade again. But there was always something to try her mother with, some act of rebellion, however small, with which she could assert herself. Punishment was always swift and severe, but never a total deterrent. Her mother could never completely kill the spark of independence that Regina clung to with all of her might. Now, finally, she was letting that independence reign, and after knowing the true freedom of love, she would never again suffer herself to fall under her mother's authority.

Without delay, Regina raced as fast as her legs could carry her to the stables, and she and Daniel wasted no time. They took her favorite horse, knowing him to be a healthy, hearty, dependable steed - one whom she could not bear to depart from, for her father had personally chosen him for her - choosing to travel on one horse to extend provisions. After sharing a brief, but loving kiss with Daniel, full of hope and promise, she took one last glance backward to the house she had been born and raised in. And then Daniel spurred the horse forward and they were on the road. That was three days ago, though it seemed like three lifetimes.

They had spared themselves only scant hours of sleep on the journey, hasting to put as much distance between them and her mother as possible. She relished every second of being wrapped up with Daniel under the stars, the thin, white cotton blanket she had the foresight take with them their only cover. She found she could, with little effort, become lost in his blue eyes and be swept away be the irresistible tide of their love for one another. After three nights sleeping wrapped up her once pure, white blanket, it was mottled with brown and green, stained by grass and earth, but to Regina it was the color of love and freedom, and nothing could have possibly been more beautiful to her.

They rode on and on through the night, but though she could still hear her mother's voice in the back of her head, she was no longer listening. And as they rode continually onward, exhaustion and the steady rhythm of the motion of the horses gait finally overtook her, and she fell into a fitful sleep.

When she awoke some time later, Regina immediately noticed that dawn was breaking over the horizon and that the horse had slowed from a canter to a lazy walk. She could see pasture land stretching out for miles before her, horses running freely and cattle grazing. In the distance to the east - for they had been traveling northward - the snow capped peaks of the Dire Mountains could be seen, on the other side of which the Ogre tribes dwelt. They had at last emerged on the other side of the Lonely Forest. It was the natural border between the Kingdom of King Leopold and the Kingdom of King George, and few journeyed through it except on occasion of great emergency and even then with great trepidation. It then occurred to her with no small amount of relief that they were no longer in her sovereign state, and with the Lonely Forest between them and home, they were out of her mother's reach, however temporarily. For the first time in days, they could spare the time to truly rest.

"Daniel?" she asked. "Are we going to stop soon?"

"Yes," he replied, turning his head slightly so she could see the smile forming on his face. His eyes were glittering with happiness. "Soon we will come to a small village called Arennd. It's a fortnight southeast of where I grew up. I have some family there with whom we'll find shelter and provision."

Regina smiled herself at this welcome news, craning her neck to kiss his cheek, thick with stubble. In their flight, he had no time shave and they spared only the briefest moments to bathe wherever they found a river or lake deep enough. "You never mentioned you hailed from Ephraya. I suppose, though, it does make sense. It is, after all, the land of horses."

Daniel chuckled softly, then his face grew suddenly sad. "True enough, though increasingly our mastery of the horse has been utilized for war rather than peaceable pursuits. King George has grown harsh in his latter years. I fear for Prince James' future." A far away look appeared in Daniel's eyes as they continued on down the road. The little village he had mentioned was visible now on the horizon.

"It pains you to speak of home," Regina replied sadly, coming to know all too well the ache that accompanied leaving something behind that you love, even though you are also leaving behind something you loathe. "I'm sorry. We won't speak of it anymore." She reached with her hand to brush the hair over his ear. "Just know you can tell me anything. I want to know whatever you're willing to share. I want to be a part of your life, even the painful parts. That's what it means to be a wife or a husband, is it not?"

The sadness in his eyes fled at her words and the glimmering returned, along with that beautiful smile that had done so much to melt the icy exterior she had often worn. "That it is, and I promise, I will share everything with you. I'm not hiding from you. I just want the beginning of our lives together to be full of happiness. I don't want to dwell on the past."

Regina nuzzled her nose into Daniel's back once again. "Nor do I, my love. For now, we'll only look forward to the future, where hope dwells unrestrained and untainted."

Leaving one hand on the reins, Daniel took one of her hands in his and stroked the delicate skin of her wrist with his thumb. As they rode on for almost an hour, he held her hand against his chest off and on, the feel of her skin against his fingers always bringing him a sense of comfort. It wasn't long until he peered hopefully before him as they entered the village of Arennd.


	2. Arennd

_**AN**_: _Thank you all for reading my humble story, and I thank you sincerely for your reviews. I do have a plan for where I'm going with this, and I hope to update once or twice per week, depending on how much time I have. _

_For a bit more of an explanation, after watching "The Stable Boy", I was truly convinced that Regina, at one time, had a good heart and was fully capable of loving someone the way Snow loves James in the show. I also believe that Snow White was innocent in all that transpired, and though she didn't want Regina to lose her mother like she did, I believe that it would have been equally plausible that, due to Snow's affection for Regina, she would keep her secret. That is where this story comes from. _

_If anyone is wondering, Snow White will be making an appearance in the story, and in fact, will play a prominent part, as the friendship between Regina and Snow will take second seat only to her relationship with Daniel. However, I want to get Regina and Daniel settled into their lives before reintroducing Snow, and due to their desire to stay hidden from her mother, there will not be contact for quite some time between them. Why this is important will become evident later and is linked to how I plan to veer this story toward canonical events between James and Snow and the eventual culmination of the curse. (Fear not - and in some cases, I'm sure, my apologies - for there will be no cursed Storybrooke in this story, as it is set purely in the Enchanted Forest.)_

_Lastly, please forgive any errors. I edit and proof my own material, and sometimes don't catch everything on the first, second, or third pass! Feel free to enlighten me of any errors and I will do my due diligence to correct them. Also, I am not good at coming up with names, so please bear with me. And now, on with the show!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show. I'm merely borrowing them for a while without thought or intent for my own personal gain._

Chapter 2 - Arennd

It was still fairly early in the morning when Daniel and Regina entered the small, idyllic village of Arennd. Thatch-roofed houses and a few scattered shops lined both sides of the solitary dirt road that divided the village into it's two quaint districts, before passing onward to the north through the Ephrayan countryside to the Capital, and finally, terminating at the foot of the Royal Castle. Most of the homes that lined the road were ordinary, single family homes, not much larger than two bedrooms and a family space. There were a few slightly larger homes, which mostly stood out due to the intricate horse motif woodwork that decorated their porches.

There was no large central market in Arennd. Once a week, the villages farmers and what few tradesmen lived within it's confines would journey fifteen miles to the north to Durrel, a much larger, mercantile town. Today, however, was not such a day, and most of the villagers were busily at work.

What few shops there were had opened. There was a butchery and a small vegetable and fruit exchange on the eastern side. The town's blacksmith - who also served as farrier - had his shop to the west, along with the the cobbler and tailor. There was virtually no crime in the town, and so there was no need for any kind of law enforcement. Everyone in Arennd knew and trusted one another.

A smattering of people milled about down the side of the road, going this way or that, attending to their daily business. Most of them did not spare a glance at the young couple riding into the village, but a few curious individuals gave them notice. Daniel sensed a spark of recognition in a few of them, although he doubted any of them they truly recognized him. It had been nearly six years since he had last visited his Aunt Vera and Uncle Travis, and he had spent most of his time here on their property.

As he and Regina rode slowly down the road, he found himself easily remembering his time here. He had been nearly eighteen years old the last time he had come, as he had every spring since he was ten, to apprentice for a season at his Aunt and Uncle's farm. It was the largest in the region and his uncle was one of the best horsemen in the Kingdom, so it was natural that his parents would send him to Arennd to learn to tend the stables, breed the horses, and care for the foals from birth to adulthood. Riding lessons were not an issue, as almost all children in the Kingdom begun getting experience with horses when they could walk, from riding with their parents to riding themselves once they were strong enough to do so. Daniel himself had begun riding on his own when he was six years old.

But his Uncle Travis had taught him everything he knew about horses and horsemanship, for it had been the plan that Daniel would take over the estate, as his Aunt and Uncle had no children. He was named their heir on his sixteenth birthday. Beyond that, he knew they loved him as a son, for they treated him as one, and he loved them just as fiercely in return. Daniel could hardly wait to feel his Aunt Vera's arms around him and to shake his Uncle Travis' familiar, well-worn hand.

"This place brings back some wonderful memories," he said then, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen. He allowed his eyes to wander and take in sights long unseen. "This is where I was taught all the most important things about horses. Everything I've been teaching you, I learned here from my Uncle Travis. It was like a second home to me."

Regina shifted a bit in discomfort at having ridden for so long without rest. But she smiled softly at his obvious happiness at returning to the beautiful, little country village. "You often talked of your Aunt and Uncle. I assume then that they love close by?"

"They do," Daniel nodded. "I loved every moment of my time here. I would always spend my winters at home dreaming about what I would do and learn the coming spring. By the time the last snow had fallen, I would be so restless, my mother would often scold me, half-heartedly of course."

"Why ever did you leave then?" she replied, genuine curiosity overtaking her. This was a subject she had never felt comfortable broaching. She knew he would tell her when he was ready, and she was content to let things develop between them naturally. But seeing the clear joy and delight on his face made her wonder.

Daniel nudged the horse westward at one of the two branches in the village off of the main road. He shrugged and allowed a crooked grin to spread across his lips. "Fate had other plans," he said simply, as if that were answer enough. It was not.

Regina nudged him playfully in the ribs and bit her lip to hold in a delighted giggle when he jerked and gave a tiny yelp. He looked at her crossly for a moment before rolling his eyes at the girlish glee in her eyes. "What?"

"You're going to have to do better than that," she declared with a grin. Leaving one hand settled at his waist, she gestured at him with the other. "Elaborate."

He gave a sigh of feigned annoyance before turning his attention back to guiding their horse, Sebastian, down the path that lead to his Aunt and Uncle's estate. "I suppose if you must know..."

"I must," Regina interrupted, returning her other hand to his hip and giving him a squeeze.

Daniel covered her hand with his own. "Six years ago," he began, his voice clear and bright. "I was out training a special horse." He turned his face to her briefly, as if sharing a secret. "My uncle breeds and trains the King and Queen's animals, you see." He turned his attention back to the road. "This horse was to be the King's personal campaign horse for the Ogre wars that had flared up again at the time. While I was training him to jump, a wealthy Baron from Landervas was riding by."

Regina almost interrupted him at the mention of the Kingdom of Leopold in which she lived, but she held her tongue.

Daniel continued. "He had recently purchased a stables near the border to the Lonely Forest, near a town called Charwood, and he was looking for someone to run it."

He paused for a moment and patted Sebastian's neck. In the near distance, he could see the familiar pillars of the home he had spent so much of his childhood in. They were close. His heart sped up slightly. He then felt Regina's hands tighten as her quick intelligence drew out the inevitable conclusion.

"My father?" she asked him, seeking confirmation as she already knew the answer.

Daniel nodded once. "Your father. He watched and questioned me for hours and was suitably impressed. He asked to meet my Uncle, and they spoke for some time. They came to an agreement that I would manage his new stables, garnering much needed experience for myself, and the skills I possessed for your father's benefit. I would be in your father's service until such time as my Uncle required my return. In exchange, your father invested heavily into my Uncle's business."

They rode along for quite a while in silence as Regina contemplated his words. She knew her father had been the one responsible for bringing Daniel into her life. She knew that it was his decision to bring Daniel on to the stables at their estate after Gerald's death. But, she had no idea he had been so long in her father's employ and that her father had personally hired him and brought him to Landervas.

"The stables at Charwood," she considered thoughtfully. She knew how important that project had been to her father. Her mother had never shared their interest in horses, preferring to spend her free time with her face buried in some magical tome or another, or perhaps frightening the life out of one of their servants who had not done their jobs just so. But her father had spent hours and hours pouring over documents and letters pertaining to those stables. Regina had known that it was something that was important to her father, and when something was important to him, he dove in hand and foot. Daniel, then, had to also have been important to him. Her mind raced. "No wonder Daddy trusted him with me," she said to herself, "the stables at Charwood went from insignificance to being personally inspected by King Leopold on his tour of the Kingdom. And that was all Daniel's doing."

Regina was beyond impressed, and a little confused. Neither her, nor Daniel, had made mention of his time at the Charwood stables. He instead had taken on the position of a lowly stable boy. But why? After all he had done for her father, why would he agree to take on what was obviously a demotion. Why had her father taken him from Charwood? Last she had heard from her father, and it occured to her now that it had been some time since he had talked openly of it, it was doing better than ever. Was it all for her benefit? Had both her father and Daniel agreed that teaching her was the best use of his skills? These questions burned in her mind.

But as the family estate loomed suddenly very large, Daniel's demeanor changed. Things did not quite look as they did when he had left. The manor had an additional wing on it's western side, and the stables were no longer of ten horse capacity, but had expanded to accommodate perhaps as many as 50 horses. There was a new stable in the distant east, and also a new foaling stall. His face fell for a moment in disappointment as he realized the magnitude of their flight. "I have now broken my agreement with your father and his with my Uncle in consequence."

"For my sake," Regina murmured, trying to comfort him, as she too took in the impressive sight of the large farm she realized her father's money had helped to build. She leaned her head against his back and sighed. It pained her to see such an expression on his face and her the cause of it. "I'm sorry." She tilted her face back up to watch his face. But the disappointment was gone, replaced by firm resolve.

"No more of that," he said. "No more 'sorries' for either of us. I would do anything, and make any sacrifice to be with you. I don't regret a moment of what's transpired, and I can't imagine there will be a time that I ever will."

Tears pricked at Regina's eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. She was agreed, no more sadness and no more regrets. She said the only thing she could say, pouring her soul into three words. "I love you."

Daniel smiled the most genuine, lovely smile she had seen all day long. "I love you, too."

No other words were needed as he nudged Sebastian with his spurs and the horse cantered the short distance remaining to the boundary fence of his family's farm. Spreading into the distance, horses could be seen grazing or standing lazily in the now-midday sun. Their black coats shimmered and gleamed in the light, and combined with the distinctive patterns on their foreheads, must have made for an awe inspiring sight to someone like Regina, who had never before seen the most famous horse in all the Ten Kingdoms.

In a country known for it's horses and horsemen, the fifty mile area centering around the city of Durrel was perhaps the most famous due to the perfect grazing country. But it was especially noted for the stock of horse bred there, a large, athletic, black-haired animal known abroad as the Durrel - naturally taking it's name after the region from whence it originated. Locals, however, referred to the breed as the Swordsman, due to the almost miraculously straight line of white hair that stretched down their long snouts, thinning to meet at the tip of the nose, and another across the front of their brows - forming the distinctive hilt and blade of a broadsword. He looked forward to watching Regina ride one in the coming days.

After a few more paces, Daniel brought Sebastian to a stop in front of the gate and lighted off him before helping Regina down. Now off of their horse for the first time in hours, they contented themselves to stretch their legs and arms and bask in the sun. There were few clouds in the bright, blue sky, and the air was still chilly, but after coming through the dark, empty cold of the Lonely Forest, the feel of the chilly day in Arennd was most wondrous.

After a few brief moments of respite, he tied Sebastian off to the fence and carefully opened the gate. He took Regina's hand. "Are you ready?"

She grinned in reply. "Are you?"

Daniel took her face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to her slightly chapped lips. "As long as you're with me, I'm ready for anything."

Regina stepped away from him blushing and ducked her head. But then she took his hands into her own and looked confidently toward the home before them. "Then, by all means, let's go meet your family!" And they were off through the gate and headed down the path that lead to their future.


	3. Swordsmen

**AN**: _Please forgive the delay in getting this chapter up! My sister and I went to see the Hunger Games on Friday and she let me borrow the books and read them. Needless to say, I got distracted by them. I also edited this chapter 3 times, touching things up to satisfaction. I really appreciate everyone reading my story and especially those who took the time to review. Thank you! _

_As I mention, I do have a plan for this story. I intend to spend a few more chapters in Arennd settling Daniel and Regina in. The idea is to reveal a little more of their back-story and re-establish canon events in this universe, though they will be slightly altered. Some may even begin to guess where I'm going with Regina's mother and what will happen to her father, as I very lightly alluded to it in this chapter. I may or may not cover their wedding in detail, I haven't decided yet, so we'll see how that goes. After I get them settled into their life post-immediate-evil-Mommy dangers, there will be a time jump in order to re-introduce Snow White to the story and get things moving along._

_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. God bless!_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show. I'm merely borrowing them for a while without thought or intent for my own personal gain.

**Chapter 3 - Swordsmen**

It was a long, lazy walk in the mid-day sun from the gate to the front porch of the home Daniel's aunt and uncle lived in. The dirt path they walked down was simple but smooth, stretching perhaps a hundred yards at a slight incline and was lined on the edges with rectangular cut mountain stone, perhaps four inches wide and eight inches tall. The region was mostly a gently rolling grassland punctuated by hillocks and the occasional hill, and as far as the eye could see, short grazing grass grew all around, brownish-green, as it was beginning to regain it's color in the early spring. The temperature had risen some, so that the morning chill had been knocked out of the air. It was a perfect day for a walk.

They ambled forward in relative silence, hands held tightly, neither in a rush, nor eager to delay, but content to soak in the sun as they walked and took in the natural beauty of the area. It was easy for Regina to imagine the delight of a younger Daniel at the prospect of returning to such a place. Trees dotted the landscape here and there, some solitary, some copses of three to five, among them silver maples, white poplars and birches, and the occasional alder. The air rang with the sound of birds chirping and whooshed with the light rustle of the wind in the trees.

Swordsmen rested in the shade and grazed in groups of threes and fours, and some of them galloped happily across the fields in pairs, nudging each other with their distinctly adorned snouts. Of all the things about the tranquil, rustic area that vied for Regina's attention, the most famous of all horses grasped her most. She imagined, up close, the largest of them had to stand at least eighteen hands high. She observed the muscles rippling as they ran or coiling in anticipation of future action as they stood steady to graze. Their size, power, and beauty simply took her breath away. They were an absolute marvel, and while she had certainly heard of the Durrel, she wondered at length why she had never seen any in Landervas. Her curiosity, as it often did, compelled her.

"So," she began, smoothing a hand over her tightly braided black hair, eyes still taking in the majestic animals at play and repose, "these are the legendary Durrel horses. I must confess, the tales told of their stature and beauty do them no justice. Why, I wonder, have I heard such tales of their prowess, yet never seen one for myself before today?"

Daniel paused for a moment - noticing they were a dozen yards or so away from the porch - and studied her curious gaze. Then he laughed softly, blue eyes twinkling. Only Regina would make such a connection. He had to admit, he found her infinitely interesting, far beyond her striking beauty.

She was one of the most complex people he had ever met. Proud, yet deceivingly humble, delightful yet severe, she was a puzzle he would never solve, nor could he ever imaging tiring of the effort. She was so intuitive and quick witted that nothing ever escaped her. It amazed him, even when instructing her, that she thought to ask questions no one else would. She had an eye for details he had never seen the equal of and an insatiable desire for information. All these traits added up to an irresistible package to a farm boy whose outlook on life was as simple as the unofficial creed of the people whom he had grown up around: _live well, love, laugh, work hard, and have no regrets_. So, to say he was not the least bit surprised at her question was an understatement.

"That would be because they are only bred in this region," he answered. "And because it is forbidden to sell them outside the borders of Ephraya, or even to those who live beyond our Kingdom. The Swordsman is for Ephraya and Ephraya the Swordsman, or so it's been said since long before I was born or even King George ruled."

"Well, that's just silly," Regina replied matter-of-factly as they again took up their slow ascent to the large manor. "They would be your greatest export and surely bring untold wealth to the Kingdom. Did you know, Leopold paid my father fifty pieces of gold per foal that came from Charwood, and two hundred pieces per stallion? The price was four hundred for trained warhorses. I imagine he would have paid at least twice that amount for such specimens as your Swordsmen."

"No, I did't know that," Daniel replied. They stopped again in front of the porch at the cusp of the first step. "I wasn't privy to the business of the stables, just the horses. But you're undoubtedly correct, we could receive untold riches in the sales of our Swordsmen, only then they would be turned on us, and our greatest weapon would become our demise. At least, that's what we're told to believe."

"And do you?" Regina asked, her eyebrow half-cocked.

Daniel shook his head. "I don't. Not that reason, at least," he said. "I believe perhaps King George and the nobility do. To the common folk, it's more than a horse, it's a symbol of who we are, as a nation and as individuals. We all want to be as proud, strong, and unshakeable as our Swordsmen. In life, we all want to run free as they do, in battle, be as fearless as they are, and in our families as loyal, trusting, and loving. They have become a part of our identity and we want to keep it that way."

A moment of silence fell between them after Daniel's poignant words, and Regina took a moment to digest his explanation. Certainly, it seemed the ties between the Durrel and the people of the region from which it took it's name went much deeper than she could have imagined. Such affinity between man and horse was unheard of in her Kingdom, where magicians and knights were the military backbone, the cultural identity drawn from Lordly and Kingly ancestries kept since ancient days, and decades of economic reliance on an ever burgeoning textile industry, an increasingly complex scientific and academic establishment, and shrewd mercantilism.

In the past two hundred years, the population of the Kingdom had tripled, and more and more ordinary people in Landervas lived in growing towns and sprawling cities that had grown up around the castles of the nobility, who now often lived and mingled among their more common countrymen, than in country towns. There were fewer tiny villages like Arennd in her Kingdom than ever before and even more rare were the large provincial estates such as the one Daniel's family owned. Her own family's property was one of few exceptions.

This kind of shift in living conditions was especially true since the ascension of the White family to the Crown. When the first of the White kings was crowned, King Leonardo White, he had almost immediately enacted several measures that were responsible for the current state of wealth in the Kingdom. A massive program of public works and city building had been launched. In exchange for a lessened tax burden, the nobility was encouraged to invest heavily into the lower classes. Loans for business were suddenly available at affordable interest rates, and businesses of all kinds sprang up throughout the newly built cities. Not all were profitable, of course - there were failures as there always are in such ventures - but there were also many great successes and a strong middle class was birthed. As a result, the Kingdom flourished and grew in power and influence, superseding all others.

However, things were very different in Ephraya, though Regina would never say they were necessarily worse. She was used to the quiet of the countryside - even though the hum of the nearby cities could always be heard on a quiet, clear night. But she had also spent a great deal of time in the cities and knew the sensory experiences could be completely overwhelming. People would be milling about, shopping or traveling up and down the cobbled roads, on foot and on horseback and by cab, coach, or carriage. Voices could be heard from all around, every morning, calling out the day's special prices from their shop fronts. Discussion of the weather or of politics or even the heated arguments of private or business disagreements could be overheard on virtually every street corner. In a place like Arennd, these things were conspicuously absent.

Also in the cities, great public buildings could be found standing proudly and regally, marble and glass displays of the power and majesty of the Kingdom and the Crown. Public recreational facilities such as parks or theaters were available for public enjoyment, where you could spend your time in relaxation or being entertained by the latest play or opera. Then there were the large housing districts, with their blue tiled roofs gleaming in the sun, families of every shape and size inhabiting them. But the centerpiece of the cities in Landervas were the massive stone castles of the local Lords, constructed of huge white or gray stone blocks, with their towers and spires jutting into the air, striking and awe-inspiring against the horizon. The cities were a reflection of the nation itself, a Kingdom of trade and prosperity and power.

Regina had noticed that the architecture in Ephraya was mostly inspired by, much as the people were, their unique culture, so unlike her homeland. It could clearly be seen in the family manor she now stood before. The cedar shake roof, which she surmised was a benefit from her father's investments, was an advance developed in her own country - most roofs she had seen in Arennd were thatched - and it was steep and intersected in the middle by what she imagined was an addition recently built. But the outer wooden paneling of the house was darkly stained, something she had never seen before, and it gave the manor a solemn, grave character. The front portion near the door was engraved with lines and runic characters of a foreign language and was decorated with portraits of ancient battles and mythical figures. Above the door hung a light-grey shield; it was a family crest, two black swords crossing each other overlaying an inverted white horseshoe.

Her eyes wandered over the large, exquisitely decorated porch, which of all the features of the manor most typified the Ephrayan culture. Like the more elaborate houses in Arennd proper, the posts of the porch were of a horse motif, which up close could be recognized as the Swordsman. But the two center posts on either side of the steps were significantly larger and more intricately designed. The top half of a stallion rose from the porch's surface as though rearing in anger, it's fore-limbs extended out perpendicular to the dark brown bannister as if to trample some unseen, hated enemy. The head was held up proudly, extending almost halfway to the ceiling, nostrils flared, mane windswept, and steely grey eyes gazing fiercely forward.

Regina had never before seen such craftsmanship. The two great wooden horses were painted a deep, glossy black that reflected the sun and were trimmed in gold and silver. The sword and hilt portion of the Swordsman's snout was, instead of white, painted as though it were a gleaming steel broadsword, the guard of which was also gold and edged with silver. The pommel was likewise colored but studded with blood-red gems. It gave the sculptures a living quality that at once mesmerized her and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Suddenly, the emotion of all the Swordsman symbolized to the people of Durrel and Daniel's heartfelt words washed over her. "I believe, deep down, we all want those things," she replied, her voice heavy with emotion, "to be free and fearless and part of something special. I want those things, too. I want to belong someplace where such things are possible."

Daniel took her hands in his and kissed each one, then kissed her tenderly on the lips and smiled, eyes once more glimmering. His voice was soft when he replied, "you do now."

If it were possible to float into the clouds due to joy, Regina knew right then that she would be a mile high. There was no stopping the full, beaming smile that broke out across her face, nor was there any halting the compulsion that propelled her into Daniel's arms. She buried her head into the crook of his neck, overcome by the warm feeling that enveloped her. She would have been happy to stay there for the rest of her days, but knew the moment was broken when she heard his voice again.

"Once more, are you ready?" he asked, rubbing her back soothingly through her blue coat. Regina nodded her head against his cheek and he chuckled. "All right. Don't worry, they're going to adore you. How could they not?"

"You say the sweetest things," she sighed, disentangling herself from him to stand at an appropriate distance, but she did not release his hand for a moment. "But I do hope you're right."

"I know I'm right," Daniel quickly affirmed with his crooked grin.

They ascended the six steps to the porch and stood before the thick oak door, which was decorated only by eight gilded symbols, not runic like the others, but characters of a language. Regina wondered at them for a moment. They somehow seemed familiar. Then she realized they were the identical to the symbols that adorned his personal saddle, the same saddle he had left behind when they left her home, opting to take Sebastian rather than his own steed.

Daniel noticed her searching look and her sudden epiphany as he raised his hand to knock. He very firmly rapped his knuckles on the door once and answered her unspoken question. "It's our native language," he explained. "It's rarely spoken now since Landervasian has become the most commonly spoken across the Realms, but we still learn it. Most now only speak in our native tongue among family." He knocked again.

"What does it say?" Regina asked.

"It's our surname, Benphray. It means, 'Son of Phray'," was his answer.

Daniel knocked a third time and a faint jostling came from behind the door along with a muffled, "coming, coming," which stopped any further questioning from her. When it swung open, she was not surprised at all to hear the startled but joyous yelp coming from the petite woman standing at the door, her face filling with radiant delight when she caught sight of Daniel. By her reaction alone, Regina would have surmised it was his Aunt Vera, but the pure, unrestrained affection mirrored in his features served as confirmation. Vera threw her arms around Daniel and squeezed him tightly. Her beloved nephew had returned.

Daniel's Aunt Vera was a strikingly beautiful woman of her mid-fourties, with long, straight, pale blonde hair pulled back into a simple braid. Regina could see a few strands of grey at her temple. Her face was thin, with high cheekbones, thin, arching eyebrows and full pink lips. She had a short, straight nose that was crinkled with excitement and eyes the color of honey that shined with happiness.

"My boy, my boy!" Vera cried, pulling back and taking Daniel's face into her hands. She suddenly grew more serious. "I thought the worst when we heard the news, we both did. Your Uncle Travis and I have been worried sick! He paced the floors all last night after word arrived from Lord Henry."

Regina noticed for a split second that Aunt Vera's face was warring between elation and a strangely deep sorrow. But then she schooled her features and was simply joyous again.

But her words had registered in Regina's mind. Her father and mother - they knew! She had expected that they would after three days, of course, but to have concrete knowledge was a much different feeling than unconfirmed expectation. Furthermore, she realized that in order for a letter to have arrived from her father, the discovery must have been almost immediate.

"So fast?" she breathed.

Her father now knew she had run away, and so her mother surely did also. Her heart plummeted into her stomach. And for her father to send news to Daniel's family, the situation was worse than she had fathomed. She had known her mother would discover her absence quickly and would be beside herself with fury, but she had hoped it would take at least a day's time before it finally registered that this wasn't just another minor incidence of her acting out, but a full blown act of rebellion. Apparently, she underestimated her mother.

Her shock and horror must have shown on her face, because Daniel's Aunt Vera quickly brought them both inside, placing a small hand on Regina's back to guide her in through the door and to the living room where they both sat down on a dark brown leather couch to the right hand side of the room. Daniel sat down softly, but Regina plopped down heavily with a heavy sigh as if all the air had been knocked out of her.

A look of concern crossed Vera's face and she took Regina's hand and patted it affectionately. "You must be Lord Henry's daughter, the woman that won my nephew's heart," she said. Regina looked up suddenly and found sage blue eyes smiling at her in understanding. "He mentioned what happened in his letter."

Regina's head began to swim. "How did it arrive so quickly?" she questioned.

Daniel's eyes suddenly lit up. "The pigeons!"

Regina looked at him in confusion. "Pigeons?"

Aunt Vera nodded. "When Daniel left Ephraya to Charwood, Lord Henry had one of his employees install a roost of pigeons here, a magically endowed breed, called them home pigeons. We keep them in a pen to themselves on the north side of the farm. He stayed for some time, almost a year, to raise a new flock. He told us that once they recognize a place as home, they will be able to make their way back there from almost anywhere, so he left those raised on Henry's estate here - they would instinctively return to him - and took the ones raised here to Charwood, which would return to us. It was so Lord Henry and Daniel could keep in touch with us and we with them."

Regina took a deep, calming breath. She was almost afraid to ask what the letter said, but she had to know. She loved her father more than anyone else in the world, save Daniel, and furthermore, they had to be prepared for whatever her mother was planning. At this stage, any information was vital. "What did he say?"

Aunt Vera stood and walked over to a desk against the far wall and picked up a carefully rolled parchment and handed it to her. "I'll leave that for you, my dear."

With trembling hands, Regina unrolled the letter and began to read:

"_To my dearest friends, Travis and Vera, from the hand of Lord Baron Henry Mills: A day ago, the fourth day of the week, my daughter, Regina, left our home with your nephew. It is my belief that she has no intent to return. In fact, it is my hope. I know of the love they share for one another. However much my wife may want to insist the contrary is true, I am not blind. The past year, I have seen my daughter turn into the woman I always knew she could be. I have watched her blossom like those beautiful white lilies I have so often admired that grow in Vera's garden. It is due in no small part to Daniel. _

_I ask that you pass on to him this token of my most sincere trust and affectionate gratitude: my permission to wed my daughter. Even if I cannot be there to give her away, I will be there in spirit, guiding her, comforting her, and loving her. Instruct him, though I know there is little need, to cherish her and care for her as the precious jewel that she is. Thank him for his unfailing dedication and service to me and to my family, it will not ever be forgotten. Do not forget, also, to give him my most heartfelt regards and affections, if I had a son, I would be proud to have one so pure of heart and soul._

_My friends, I suspect with good reason that they will come to you as swiftly as possible. Please, welcome my daughter into your home as you have myself so many times before, and take care of her as you do your own beloved nephew - I ask you this, even knowing it need not be asked, because she is the most precious thing in all the world to me. Tell her that I love her with all of my heart and that it is my most fervent desire that she find the happiness in this world that escaped me - that is, the happiness of true love. Tell her that I am so very proud of her and of the brave choice she made to find her own path, and tell her to trust her heart, for it will not lead her astray. _

_But whatever happens, do not let them leave Ephraya, they will be protected there. We all know full well King George is aware of my wife and her ambitions, and has even less love, bolstered by great envy and mistrust, for King Leopold. She would not dare provoke him, however powerful she may have become._

_I do not know when or if I will be able to write you again, so I leave you with a final gift as a token of my gratitude for all we have meant to one another through the years. With the affixed signature by my own hand, I, Lord Baron Henry Steven Mills, cancel all debts incurred by Travis and Vera Benphray, and enclosed with this letter, you will find the title deed to the Charwood stables, signed over into your name. Finally my friends, as always: live well, love, laugh, work hard, and have no regrets. All my love, your ever devoted friend, Henry._"

If Regina's heart had been closed off by walls of the most impenetrable granite, it would have been impossible for her father's words not to have smashed them into dust. Tears rolled steadily down her cheeks and she fought to stave off hysteria. She gripped Daniel's hand as a lifeline, squeezing so tightly, she knew she was cutting off all circulation and causing him pain. But her heart was bleeding inside of her, both from joy at her father's warmth and love and despair at what seemed so clearly to be her father's way of saying goodbye.

Once it finally registered that in all likelihood, these were the final words for quite some time - if not ever - that she would hear from her father, all semblance of control disappeared. The parchment slipped from her fingers as she released a strangled cry and collapsed into Daniel's arms.

"Oh, Daddy!" she wailed, clutching desperately at the front of his shirt.

Glancing sorrowfully at his Aunt Vera, Daniel saw only understanding and sympathy in her eyes.

"Take care of her, dear," she said, stepping toward the front door, "I'll go fetch your Uncle Travis."

He could only nod stiffly, his own eyes filling with moisture. For untold minutes, he held Regina as she cried, her muscles tight with anxiety and despair. When she began at last to relax a little, he stood and gently gathered her - still softly weeping - into his arms, then made his way down the hallway to the east where his old bedroom used to be. He found the door mercifully propped open and nudged it wide with his hip.

As he stepped through the threshold into the room, Daniel allowed his eyes, just for a moment, to take in the familiar sight. It was still exactly the way it used to be. His bed was made, turned down with light brown sheets and topped by his favorite quilt, the one his mother made for him when he was eight years old. A sturdy, old, well-loved rocking chair sat by the bed next to the window with a blanket draped over it's back. The shades of the window were tied open and sunlight streamed in golden beams through the glass, hitting his wardrobe and the rocking chair and casting shadows across the room. His toy horses, knights, and cavalrymen lined the shelves against the right hand wall, all painted and posed and in perfect military formation. How many hours had he spent commanding his own pretend unit of Swordsman calvary in war after war against ogres and trolls and rival Kingdoms, all from the safety of the four walls within?

In his arms, Regina lightly sniffled, breaking his brief moment of reverie. Her tears had finally halted. Eyes shut tight, a bead of sweat rolled down her temple as she murmured words he couldn't make out against his chest. She had completely exhausted herself.

With care, he laid her on the bed, careful not to wake her and slowly removed her blue coat, leaving her only in her favorite white blouse and tan riding trousers. She stirred briefly, sighing and furrowing her brow. Next, he pulled her boots off and sat them quietly beside the door frame. Then he fetched the blanket thrown over the rocking chair and draped it gently over her, tucking it around her feet and settling it around her neck. With a whimper, she turned on her side to face him and rolled herself up in the blanket, settling once more into a light slumber. However, the crease on her brow never left.

Daniel sat down in the rocking chair and rubbed his hand over his face wearily. He had read the words Lord Henry had written as Regina did and understood her distress. He liked to think he knew his former employer very well, and easily recognized the haste with which the letter had been written. Things were not well at the Mills estate. Daniel was genuinely afraid for Lord Henry.

Over the past six years, they had come to share a true rapport. It hadn't taken him very long at all to warm up to the affable, older gentleman. Though he was rich and titled, there were no airs about Lord Henry Mills, he was kind, courteous, and generous to all his employees, but especially so to Daniel after the success of the venture at Charwood. Lord Henry had trusted him implicitly with his resources and he had been rewarded with an ever-expanding source of income. Most employers would be grateful to their employees, but as the stables at Charwood grew ever more lucrative, a genuine friendship and camaraderie grew along with it.

The two of them had spent many hours in Lord Henry's on-site office, chatting amiably about any and every topic under the sun. There had been debates and disagreements - as there are bound to be between two individuals of such disparate origins - but always with respect, never in anger. It had been there in that very office that Lord Henry had informed Daniel of Gerald's death and of his desire that he replace him. It had not been an order, but a suggestion to consider. Yet, when he had looked in the older man's eyes, Daniel saw an underlying motive that he could not figure out. The letter had revealed with veiled words what had been hidden behind his employer's eyes that day. Lord Henry had known that Daniel could help his beloved daughter, and had perhaps somehow guessed what would happen between them.

Thinking about his friendship with Regina's father made his heart ache. He was under no illusion of the lengths to which the Lady Cora would go in order to protect her interests. And with no Regina to marry off to Leopold, he didn't want to imagine what her next move would be, but he knew somehow it would not bode well for Lord Henry.

Suddenly feeling spent himself, Daniel closed his eyes for a moment to rest, not intending to fall asleep. But the long, arduous journey, the emotional turmoil that preceeded it, lack of sleep, and then the grave news that awaited them at his home caught up to him. Not long after, he was slumped over in a fatigue induced sleep.

* * *

><p>It was almost three hours later when Regina awakened, still wrapped up in the blanket Daniel had carefully covered her with. Her limbs felt heavy and her head swam in a misty haze of exhaustion and worry. The sun was now on the other side of the house and no longer shone directly through the window. She could vaguely remember him scooping her up as she wept in despair over her father's letter, but she could not recall much more than hearing the clacking of his boots against the hardwood floors and feeling him walking away from the living room and down a hallway. She must have succumbed by the time he reached the room, because she did not remember being laid in bed and being shown such gentle attention when she was tucked in.<p>

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and looked around the room for Daniel, but he wasn't there. She could hear voices coming from down the hall, however. Checking her braid, Regina found to her mild astonishment that it was mostly intact and had not come undone in her sleep as it normally did. She rose and approached the door, where she found her boots and slipped them on, then made her way down the hallway and into the living room.

She found Daniel sitting there facing her in a cushioned, wood-framed chair talking quietly with his Aunt Vera and Uncle Travis about their journey. From what she could see, Travis was a tall man - he sat at least a head higher than his wife - and had dark brown hair and skin lightly tanned from the early spring sun. He and Vera were sitting on the couch she and Daniel had sat in earlier, the couch where she had read what she believed in her heart were her father's last words to her. She swallowed thickly.

Daniel's narrative had reached their exit from the Lonely Forest when he noticed her standing tentatively in the hallway. He rose and crossed the room to stand before her, taking her hands in his. "I was just relaying all that's happened to Aunty and Uncle. Are you all right?"

"I think so," Regina replied, then tilted her head down to hide her face. She wanted to shield Daniel from her worry. "Just a bit tired still."

"And worried?" Daniel prodded knowingly. He had sensed her inner turmoil. She nodded as he tipped her chin. "It's okay to be worried about him. I'm worried, too."

"You are?" she asked, with a bit of wonderment, as she hadn't known the extent of his friendship with her father.

"We all are," said Uncle Travis, surprising Regina again by the intense sincerity in his deep, resonant voice. His eyes, she noticed then, were the same blue as Daniel's. She could also see that Daniel shared more than just his eye color with his uncle. He favored him heavily. "Everyone here, in some way, loves your father, Regina. We're all praying for his safety."

Tears gathered in her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly. "You don't know what that means to me."

Aunt Vera arose and came to stand beside Daniel and gave her an embrace. Her arms were warm and comforting, and Regina found herself wishing she could have had a mother that gave such hugs.

"Whatever you need, dear, just ask," Vera said as she pulled away, brushing a single, stray lock of midnight hair behind Regina's ear. "We'll do all we can, whatever we can, to help you."

Regina found she could not form any words that could adequately express herself, so she nodded gratefully and allowed Vera to usher her over to the chair Daniel previously occupied and guide her down into it. She found Uncle Travis' blue eyes watching her carefully, not with suspicion but with concern.

"It will probably be at least a month's time, if not more, before we hear any further news from Landervas," he began, his eyes never leaving hers. "Information between our Kingdom and yours is very slow - there is no love lost between King George and King Leopold, you see. I hope your father gets the opportunity to send another letter, but I'm afraid it won't be possible. I remember him mentioning a few months ago that his home pigeons were mysteriously dying. The bird that flew this last message may well have been his last."

He paused for a moment and leaned forward, rubbing his hands together in his lap, as if deciding whether or not to disclose an important piece of information, but for whatever reason, chose not to and reclined again. "If we've not heard anything in a month's time - which in my estimation is a good thing, big news travels fast - I'll ride to Durrel and send out letters to a few common friends Henry and I have in Landervas. Whatever happens, I want you to know, our home is your home."

"Again, thank you, Travis...and Vera," Regina replied, eyes finding each of them. Her voice had regained confidence due to a semblance of normality with a plan in place, but she remained curious about the pause in Travis' speech and the way he seemed to be weighing carefully revealing something to her. There was a time for everything, however, and not wanting to offend such gracious hosts, she let it go for the moment. "I can see where Daniel's kindness," here she looked to Travis, then turned to Vera, "and his gentleness come from. I suspect because he missed it so, he never spoke much about home, but I always knew by his manner that he had to come from one full of love."

Her words seemed to reassure both of them - a confirmation that their love for their nephew was so evidently seen. They grasped hands as they allowed themselves a moment for long-loved memories to wash over them.

"You're welcome, my dear," Travis said, ending a peaceful moment of silence. But then, a dreadfully serious look settled over him and he turned to Daniel, who was standing, arms folded together next to the chair in which Regina sat. "I'm afraid there is more bad news."

Regina stiffened momentarily, then noticed he was talking to Daniel rather than her. She felt her chest tighten. Next to Travis, Vera seemed to crumble, clutching his hand even tighter. Her reaction fueled Regina's unease. She looked up at Daniel.

Instant realization and then muted horror crossed his face and his arms fell limply to his sides. It seemed all the life had drained out of him. "The plague. My parents?"

Travis only nodded once, his face grave and sorrowful. "They've both fallen ill, lad," he said, voice strained. "They refused to leave the village. King George now has it and most of that region under quarantine. No one is allowed to leave under punishment of death. The hope is that the plague will burn itself out."

A crushing air of grief fell over the room as Regina sank into her chair and clenched her eyes tightly shut. She couldn't begin to image what was going through Daniel's mind and her own fear and sorrow now seemed so petty in comparison. Yes, she was concerned for her father, but she had as of yet no reason to believe he was not still alive and well. As selfish and cruel as her mother could be, Regina knew that she had once loved him and even now believed she still held some affection for him. But his parents had been as good as condemned to death.

She opened her eyes and looked up to him again. Her heart clenched painfully at the devastation she saw there. His blue eyes were dimmed and swimming with unshed tears, though his face remained amazingly steady. Could it be that this was news not completely unexpected?

He must have seen the confusion in her face. "I've known of the plague for a few weeks, your father made sure to keep me informed of what he could," he said in answer. His voice had lost all warmth and he suddenly looked much older than his twenty-four years. "It apparently broke out in Harden, the city to the north of my village. My mother is a healer, so I suppose a part of me knew she wouldn't leave and that my father wouldn't leave her. I had hoped, though..."

Travis arose when Daniel's voice trailed off. He came to stand in front of Daniel and quickly wrapped his nephew up in his arms. A few tears leaked out of Daniel's eyes and down his face. He did not weep, but he hugged his uncle tightly and allowed himself to be supported and comforted.

"There is still hope, my boy," Travis said firmly, pulling back to look Daniel in the eyes. "There is always hope. No matter what happens, we will get through it. Remember who we are."

Daniel seemed to gain an inner strength when his uncle spoke these words, straightening and nodding as resolve settled over his features.

"We never give up or lose hope," Travis continued, voice waxing clear and strong. His blue eyes shined as he repeated the mantra of an ancient and proud people. "As long as we are alive, we will keep fighting. We never abandon one another. We are strong and courageous, and we will give everything and sacrifice anything for those we love."

Regina noticed that Vera now stood with them and was mouthing the words as Travis spoke them. They all three - Daniel, Travis, and Vera - joined hands as they said in unison the last words of the creed. "We are Swordsmen."

Regina's eyes closed as a familiar loneliness filled her heart. This was something she had never experienced before, the tightly woven fabric of family unity, for her own was loose at best. She had only ever felt such devotion and love for her father. Her mother was her mother, but most of the time she had felt a million miles away from her, and as of late the only strong emotions she did feel for her were fear and anger. The scene of the Benphray family standing together as one gave her a sense of longing she had not felt in years.

But suddenly she felt a hand slide into each of hers, and her eyes snapped open to find Daniel and Travis coaxing her to rise. They gently guided her to stand in the circle between them, Vera standing across from her, all of them joining hands. The loneliness she had previously felt fled away and instead, she felt a tingling warmth begin to rise from her toes, through her legs, into her chest and settle over her heart.

"The true meaning of being a Swordsman is being part of a family," Travis said to her. A smile bloomed across his handsome features as he explained the meaning behind his words. "Unlike other horses, once a Swordsman finds a mate, they mate for life. Once they have foals, they always remain close to them until the foal reaches adulthood, and even then, they never lose track of one another. Legend says it's because the Swordsman is descended from Phray, the last and greatest of the black-horned unicorns, which also mated for life and formed such family units. Legend or not, this has been the way of our people for a thousand years. Family is everything."

"And now, my love," Daniel said, squeezing her hand. "You are a Swordsman, too."

Joy and belonging filled Regina's heart as she stood in the circle. She realized that as they repeated those words, that it was not just something born of tradition or habit, and that it was not just a joining of hands, but of hearts as well. They drew strength and courage from one another. When one of them was hurting, the others shared the hurt and in turn, shared with them their love and compassion. Instead of one person bearing the burdens alone, everyone in the family bore them as well, making the load seem that much lighter, and instead of one person being happy, everyone shared in their joy, making the happiness that much brighter. If this was what being in a real family felt like, Regina never wanted it to end.

The words began again, but this time, it wasn't just Travis reciting them, but all of them joined in, their voices filling the house with the sound of family. "_We never give up or lose hope. As long as we are alive, we will keep fighting. We never abandon one another. We are strong and courageous, and we will give everything and sacrifice anything for those we love. We are Swordsmen_."


	4. Let's Get Married!

**AN**: _Sorry for the delay. I have no excuse, really. I started and stopped on this chapter several times in the past week or so and edited it pretty heavily. It grew a couple thousand words on me, but it's done now and I'm fairly happy with it. I hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. I'd love to hear your thoughts._

_There will be two, maybe three more chapters before there will be a time jump. I need to do this in order to re-introduce Snow White into the plot I have in mind, and if I don't speed it forward a little, this story may wander way off course. Gotta keep it on the straight and narrow!_

_I greatly appreciate everyone that has taken the time to review and also thank those who are following the story. Hopefully, everyone will be satisfied with how it turns out in the end, myself included. Read and enjoy! _

_** Corrected some errors.  
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**Disclaimer**: _I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show, though I can't express with words how much I wish I did. They're so very much fun to play with! But alas, I'm merely borrowing them for a while without any thought or intent for my own personal gain._

**Chapter 4** - Let's Get Married

The next morning, Regina awoke to the sound of birds chirping merrily outside the windowsill. Early morning light from the rising sun filtered in through the window, bathing the room with a warm, orange glow. Birds of every kind could be seen flying about: golden colored chiffchaffs, tan colored finches with their short, bright, triangular orange bills and yellow streaked wings, and brown, orange-crested robins. They darted to and fro across her line of sight, wings flapping merrily. One little bluebird even landed on the sill and tweeted as if to greet her and bade her good morning. It chirped with excitement for several minutes before shooting off into the air again. The happy melody was a welcome incentive for her to rise and face the day, and she found herself smiling contentedly as the trilling and whistling grew louder and more boisterous in the prevailing sunlight. For the first time in three days, Regina had slept through the night undisturbed and peacefully.

She sat and listened quietly for some time, absently turning the twisted, golden saddle-ring Daniel had given her around and around on her finger, allowing her mind to wander to the night before as the symphony of morning continued. After being made to feel so welcome and whole as a part of the circle of the Benphray family, she had permitted herself a time of pure happiness in which thoughts and fears of her, Daniel, her father, and his parents being in danger were pushed into the recesses of her mind. The togetherness of his family, into which she had just been so lovingly accepted, gave her the strength to do that.

Togetherness seemed such a strange and foreign concept to her. In her family, it had always been just Regina and her father who ever showed any affection to one another. Her mother and her selfish ambition had always been dangerously present, and they had never - the three of them - truly been what she would now consider a family. It felt strange and exciting to be a part of such a kindred whose only concern was for each other.

Of course, she had never once had cause to doubt her father's love, and was as close to him as she felt any daughter could be with her father. However, their interactions were never so open and free and intense. Her mother's cold harshness guaranteed that all emotions were suppressed until they were well away from her scrutinizing eyes. She and her father had been forced to share what happy time they could away from the suffocating, stifling presence her mother brought along with her wherever she went.

Standing in that circle, hands bound together with Daniel and his family, for the first time she had felt family as something more than a concept; it became tangible, something that she could touch and experience, and it was achingly real. She could literally feel the love between them flowing through her, extending to her a fortitude she had never known. Due to the absence of such familial warmth during her own life, it at once had broken her heart and mended it back together again, making her feel more whole than ever before. Uncle Travis' poignant words had been confirmed to her; burdens were made so much easier to bear when they were shared with the people you love.

After their united circle had been broken, Daniel and his uncle Travis had sat and conversed in the living room and Aunt Vera had lead Regina through the house to an area of the backyard that was completely decked. It was enclosed by wooden fence for privacy, though there was little need. No one else lived for miles around and the farm workers lived in furnished housing that she was told was no more than a five minute ride away to the west, where the sun was sinking ever lower in the sky. A cast-iron tub sat near the fence with a fire pit nearby, just a few steps away. The decking where the pit lay was cut out in a square and lined with large stones. A huge, iron pot filled with water hung over the pit, suspended by metal posts through rings on each side. Several smaller, five gallon buckets rested to the side. There was also a changing partition at the head of the tub with a robe and a cotton towel hanging over it. On one of two chairs sitting against the house, a yellow cotton dress lay neatly folded.

"I know you must be in dire need of a good, long soak after such a journey," Vera had said, as she had moved over to the pit and added a few logs from a nearby pile. "After all, I know what a nice, warm bath does for me after a long ride." Crossing over to the partition, she had taken the towel and robe and handed them to Regina. "Here you are dear, take off those dirty clothes and throw them over the screen. You can put this robe on and come sit and talk a bit while the water heats."

While Regina was behind the screen, Vera had started the fire and stoked it to a steady, bright orange glow. After quickly changing and throwing on the robe, she had done as Vera had said, hanging her old clothes over the side of the changing screen. Then, she had sat down in the chair next to the beautiful, fair-haired woman. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so, as they conversed. Vera had told Regina a few tales from Daniel's childhood, and from her own, and had also explained some of the business aspects of what they did at the farm.

Almost all of the land and equipment they owned was dedicated to breeding, raising, and training Durrel horses. There were also a handful of milk cows, and a small flock of sheep which Vera kept for their wool. She had grown up with the local spinstress, a similarly blonde-haired woman named Irene. They looked so nearly alike that many people assumed they were twins when they had been out playing or walking to school together. They had kept their close friendship as they grew up, learned trades, and married, and had developed a comfortable bartering agreement. Vera supplied Irene's family with milk and baked them bread. In return, Irene spun Vera's wool into yarn.

Still, horses were and would ever remain the center of the Benphray world. Every morning, Travis and Vera woke early to feed them and check in on the foals, yearlings, and the pregnant mares. After that they would then go their separate ways for the morning. Travis worked almost exclusively with the horses, training them or supervising the farm's operation, and Vera tended her garden, her flock of sheep, milked the cows, or cleaned the house - she didn't believe in hiring someone to do something she could do easily enough. In the evenings, she pitched in to help with training the military horses, or if none were being trained, she managed the farm's financial affairs. Vera was an accomplished rider, and she had told Regina that she rode as often as she could, which wasn't nearly enough for her liking. The older woman's ardor was especially evident when she talked about the thrilling experience of riding on the back of a Swordsman.

In the short time she spent with Daniel's aunt, Regina had come to realize that she had found in Vera a kindred spirit. Although she was smaller, shorter by a head and more petite than Regina was, she was a fiercely independent woman with a personality that far exceeded her stature. She had a tenacity and liveliness to her that was inspirational.

The fact that she ran the farm side by side with her husband only added to the growing list of reasons Regina respected her. This was, of course, a very progressive arrangement in such a traditional nation, but Vera informed her that she had always been unconcerned about what society expected of her and of what the townspeople thought and that Travis had been, too. To them, they loved each other as equals and it was only natural that their economic livelihood be considered in much the same way.

Over time, the village had come to accept Vera's status as not just Travis' wife, but his business partner, and that had changed things, little by little, in the village itself. More and more women and men had begun to reevaluate their relationships as the Benphray's flourished, and though some did not dare challenge the status quo, some had. In consequence, a number of women had opened small shops of their own - the local clothing store and general store were owned by women. When she had talked about how the town's baker had added his wife's name to the bakery deed and turned over the financial operations to her care, Vera's amber eyes had danced and sparkled with pride.

They had also shared some laughs about Daniel's childhood adventures. Some of the stories Vera told were quite amusing and would, in all likelihood, be embarrassing for him to talk about. As she shared those stories and laughed at Daniel's youthful exuberance and antics, Regina had marveled at how contagious and uplifting the older woman's melodic, lilting laughter was. It seemed to fill the air with an indescribable joy. For a while, she had forgotten that there were any problems at all in her life. Vera's laughter had that kind of effect.

Soon, however, the water had heated up, and Regina had helped Vera transfer the hot water from the large cast iron pot to the tub. It had taken about twelve buckets to fill the tub, each of them filling six and emptying the piping hot water into the tub. Once the tub was full, Vera excused herself with a smile to the kitchen where she resumed working to preparing the meal she had only just begun before Regina and Daniel's earlier arrival.

Regina had then placed the towel on the lip of the tub, deftly untangled her braid, shed her robe, and slipped into the water with a gasp and a moan of pure pleasure. The heat of the water had instantly loosened her stress-tightened muscles, and it had seemed to her that the rising tension of the past three days had melted away into the evening air. She couldn't begin to count the number of times she had sighed contentedly while soaking in the tub.

After being so relaxed, she unexpectedly dozed off, but was stirred back into consciousness by the cooling water, which had turned lukewarm. Once she had stepped out of the tub and covered herself with her robe, she tiptoed over to the partition, noticing Vera had brought her travel bag out and placed it next to the chair the yellow cotton dress was laying in. Regina had been truly grateful for her thoughtfulness. She snatched the bag quickly and slipped behind the screen, then toweled herself off, taking a little extra time to get as much water as she could out of her hair. She did not braid her hair, opting instead to leave it loose in it's natural, wavy state. Digging out fresh undergarments, and taking the cotton dress, she dressed herself. A pair of leather sandals had been left out for her on the steps leading up to the door, so she slipped them on and headed back inside out of the cooling evening air.

Inside the living room, Daniel and his uncle were still talking - she could hear their voices carrying down the hall - so, she had walked as quietly as she could. She passed through the living room without distracting them, into the dining room and then went inside the open kitchen. Vera was almost done preparing supper and was moving about the kitchen busily humming when she entered the room, but Regina still went over and pulled her into a hug.

Vera hadn't needed to be told what the hug was for. "You're very welcome," she had said, rubbing Regina's back like a mother would their child. "I always wanted a daughter to look after, so now that I got my chance, I'm not going to miss it."

Regina had simply squeezed the tiny but strong woman gratefully in response, then whispered into her ear, "I'm so glad."

When dinner had at last been prepared, Vera called out to the boys and Daniel and Travis had joined them to set the table. They had eaten a lovely meal of marinated venison, boiled carrots and chopped, fried potatoes. There was also a type of honey baked bread that had smelled so wonderful while baking, it made Regina's mouth water, and tasted even more heavenly than it smelled. She had learned that it was Daniel's favorite. The warm companionship shared during the course of the meal had been relaxing and comforting and she couldn't remember a time when she had smiled as much as she did while eating with Daniel, his aunt, and his uncle.

After supper, the entire family had joined in the task of cleaning. Daniel had washed the dishes outside in a short, wide, wooden bucket, while Vera dried them and Travis put them away. Regina had sat on a stool next to Daniel and helped him to wash where she could, specifically the utensils and plates. By the time they had eaten and cleaned up, the sun had almost dipped completely behind the western horizon, and both she and Daniel were beginning to tire.

They went into the living room and sat and talked for an hour or two, mostly discussion about what had been going on in Ephraya since Daniel had left the farm. She had listened with rapt attention as Travis had spoken. She found it nearly impossible to ignore his deep, commanding voice, especially when it was alive with interest at a subject.

King George, he had told them, was growing increasingly distant from the southern regions of his kingdom, confining himself to the north and the ever-growing potential threat of the Ogres crossing over the Dire Mountains. He had even begun to isolate himself from much of the nobility, drawing a few zealously loyal Lords into an inner circle that was fast becoming impenetrable. Though this behavior was troubling to most of the country, it had paled in comparison to the shock of the news that Prince James, at only twelve years of age, had commenced his formal military training. Most boys of the nobility began such training at the age of sixteen. To learn that the King was preparing his own son for war at such an early age was distressing, especially to the common folk. After all, if Prince James entered training at twelve, what would be required of their own sons? The people were starting to feel like a wave of fearful, unwelcome change was washing over them, and for the first time in hundreds of years, a cloud of uncertainty rested over the future of the Ephrayan nation.

Soon, however, Regina had begun to feel her eyes grow heavy. Despite her best efforts, her eyes had kept drifting shut of their own accord and though she had fought to hold it back, she could not stop her loud yawn from breaking the discussion. Daniel only smiled at her sweetly and apologized to his aunt and uncle, then excused her and himself to bed. He lead her quietly by the hand down the same hallway he had carried her through earlier and ushered her into his room.

"I'll go and see if my aunt has any sleeping gowns that might fit you," he had said, then turned back down the hallway toward the living room.

She had taken that time to look around his room properly, brushing her hand over the foot of the bed as she walked over to the window. The bag with her clothes rested next the wardrobe in the corner, though she wasn't sure how it had gotten there. As her eyes swept over the room, Regina noted that there was no light coming through the window. It had turned to dusk, as the sun had completely disappeared, and darkness had fallen over the countryside. She had then turned and eyed the wooden rocking chair, taking in the detailed lines carved into the back headrest and armrests. Some were straight, some curved, and some even swirled into a dark black point. She traced them with her tips of fingers.

Then her eyes had been drawn to the figurines lining the shelves along the wall, and she approached them and studied them carefully. The face of each toy soldier was uniquely painted and carved, some with small wooden shields and swords, others carrying large two-handed broadswords. There were even a few with long, wooden pikes and strange gilded helmets. The level of detail was breathtaking, and Regina was so enthralled, she neither heard Daniel's steps down the hallway, nor did she note his presence in the doorway. She startled and turned to face him when his voice broke the silence and her concentration.

"They were made by Geppetto," he had said, tilting his head in reference to the soldiers.

The sight of Daniel leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, illuminated only by the oil lamps burning in the hallway, and looking at her with such loving intensity had struck her as one of the most beautiful she had ever seen. "I've never seen their likeness," she replied, her eyes shining and never leaving his for a moment as she spoke. "Such beauty, strength, and courage. I'm in awe." Regina had hoped he understood that she was not at all talking about the toy soldiers, but about him.

A soft, genuine smile had graced his features in confirmation that he had indeed understood. He approached her and took her hand in one of his, cupping her cheek with the other. He leaned closer to her until their noses were lightly brushing. Her eyes had slid shut in anticipation as he spoke, and his words had been like a whispered prayer against her slightly parted lips. "As am I."

Time had seemed to stand still as their lips touched gently, and Regina had breathed in his heady sweetness, wrapping her arms around his waist as the kiss deepened. Everything around her had faded into the background, every sound and every thought. She could only feel his soft lips moving over hers and the rapid beating of her heart in her chest. Her mind swam in ecstasy. She could remember vaguely being amazed that the feelings Daniel's kisses elicited in her never faded, they only seemed to grow in intensity.

When their kiss had ended, her eyes fluttered open to find Vera standing in the doorway with a delighted smirk. The blonde woman had chuckled lightly when their eyes met, and Regina had immediately tucked her face into Daniel's chest to hide her furious blushing.

"I have some garments for you, my dear, they belonged to Daniel's mother. She was about your height and size." Vera's voice was full of mirth. "Though, if you're too busy, I could always come back later."

Daniel had not hidden his amusement either, and she had felt his chest rumble with laughter. For a moment, the three of them all laughed together, though Regina was still slightly embarrassed at Daniel's aunt having witnessed so intimate a moment. But soon, Vera had placed the garments - two silken sleeping gowns, one white and one a royal blue, and also a silver hairbrush - on the bed and gave Regina's hand a squeeze before leaving the room and turning down the hallway.

Wordlessly, Daniel had turned her around and lead her around his bed to sit in the wooden rocking chair near the window. He stood behind her, humming softly, and skillfully ran his fingers through her hair. She had melted into the chair and moaned with pleasure at the exquisite feeling of his long fingers gently massaging her scalp.

"You have the most beautiful hair," he murmured, still deliciously kneading her scalp. "So silky and dark against your pale skin. I could do this forever."

"And I would happily allow you to do so," she replied, sighing and moaning. She felt so relaxed and tingly, she was afraid her eyes were going to roll into the back of her head.

Daniel continued massaging her scalp and stroking her hair for some time before he stopped. She had whimpered and pouted a bit, which elicited a laugh from him. But then he had taken the silver brush and started running it smoothly and evenly through her long, raven tresses. Being already relaxed from the massage, it hadn't taken very long for awareness to completely escape her. Some time later, she had found herself being awakened by Daniel and maneuvered to sit on the bed. He had then knelt down in front of her, taken both her hands, and placed feather-light kisses on her knuckles.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you for a walk around the farm," he had said. "And after that, we can go for a ride."

His eyes had somewhat lit up then, and she was momentarily awash with eagerness for the morrow. But another tired yawn had involuntarily escaped, and with a kiss to her temple, Daniel had risen, wished her goodnight, and told her he loved her. She had returned his love and then he walked through the door, pulling it closed behind him with glimmering blue eyes and a smile, and had disappeared once again down the hall. She had then removed the yellow cotton dress Vera had procured for her and slipped on the white gown that had belonged to Daniel's mother. It had fit surprisingly well - snug, but not tight - covering down to just above her ankles. Next, she had swiftly and simply re-braided her hair and folded her clothes neatly, depositing them on the seat of the rocking chair. Finally, she had climbed into bed and fallen asleep almost immediately.

Regina could not begin to reckon the time that had past while she was lost in thoughts of yesterday. Ten, perhaps fifteen minutes had gone by and the sun had risen to the point where it was almost fully revealed. She sat quietly and watched it ascend over the distant horizon, reveling in feeling of freshness at the dawning of a new day.

But the silence was soon disturbed by Daniel's voice from the doorway. "Did you sleep well?"

She looked over at him and found him grinning widely at her, looking more rested and energetic than he had been in days. His brown hair was neatly parted as it always was, sweeping over the top of his forehead. He was a dressed in tan colored breeches and a light gray shirt tied together in the front by thin strips of leather; his sleeves were rolled up his forearms. Even dressed down, he cut a dashing image that made her heart flutter.

"I slept very well, thank you," she replied, returning his smile, her voice still rough from sleep.

"No dreams?" he asked.

She shook her head as Daniel came over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "No, no dreams. I slept through the night."

He sighed gratefully and squeezed her hand. "I'm glad. You haven't slept more than two hours at a time in days. Even then, you always seemed anxious and tense."

"I was," she answered plainly. Her fingers fiddled absently with the bed covers. "But it helped knowing you were next to me, even if it didn't seem like it. You were an anchor during the nightmares. During the worst ones, I always knew deep down that you were near and that I would wake to the comfort of your arms around me."

At least once per night, sometimes two and three times during their brief periods of rest during the journey, she had been awakened by nightmares that left her either sweating and gasping for air or her body trembling, with muscles rigid, her hands and jaw clenched tightly. They mostly centered around Daniel, and those always involved her losing him in some way or another. She could remember one dream in which he had left her because she became too much like her mother, controlling him and smothering any spark of character or individuality out of him. That one had shaken Regina to her core; she knew it was her deepest, most profound sub-conscious fear manifesting itself.

The most terrifying of her dreams was one in which her mother had discovered their plan to run away together and after feigning understanding, plunged her hand into Daniel's chest, ripped his heart out, and squeezed it into dust. As long as she lived, she knew that she would never forget the look on Daniel's face as her mother drove her hand into his chest. Shock, fear, and pain had raced across his features in rapid succession - she was certain they were mirrored in her own. She had felt herself fall to her knees and take his lifeless body into her arms as the gruesome pallor and chill of death had settled into his once warm skin. She had woke up from that dream screaming and sobbing, and had frantically stumbled away from Daniel to vomit in the woods.

"I'll always be here, whenever you need me," Daniel replied softly, running a hand over her still-braided black hair, then resting it on the side of her face. His thumb briefly ghosted patterns over her cheek before he stood. "I'm going to let you get dressed, then we can go for that walk." He leaned over and kissed her cheek before walking over to the doorway. "Aunty and Uncle have already eaten and left to feed the horses, but there's honey-bread and butter on the table if you'd like to join me for a quick bite to eat."

"I'd love to," she replied with a genuine smile.

He responded with the crooked grin that she so adored. "I'll be waiting."

Once Daniel disappeared down the hallway, she tossed the covers aside and crawled out of bed. She stretched languidly and yawned as she wiggled and flexed her toes and fingers. Excitement for a new day coursed through her, though she found herself most keenly anticipating riding. She had almost immediately discovered that riding helped her to clear her head and relax. While in the saddle, she could escape for a time from the pressures of being the only child of a noble family. As she had grown closer to Daniel, that feeling of contentment and happiness only increased. And she had to admit, the chance to ride one of the majestic and powerful Swordsmen made her all the more eager, especially after observing Vera's earlier fervor.

Padding over to the wardrobe in her bare feet, Regina grabbed her bag and sat it on the bed. She rifled through it for a change of clothes, taking out a pair of socks, tan breeches, much like the ones she had worn the day they left her home, and a black riding blouse. She quickly and efficiently changed clothes and placed the bag back where she had found it. Then she neatly folded Vera's white gown and laid it inside the bottom drawer of the wardrobe where she had placed the other gown the night before. Out of habit and a sense of courtesy for her hosts, she carefully made her bed, smoothing and folding down the sheets and carefully arranging the pillows. Her boots were, as before, next to the door; she slipped them on and headed down the hallway.

She found Daniel sitting at the table waiting for her, crooked grin still firmly in place. A load of bread, a plate of butter, and a small pitcher of milk was resting in the middle of the table.

"That was fast," he said.

Regina sat down across from him and chuckled. "I'm ready to get back outside. It's going to be such a beautiful day!"

"Of all the seasons, I love Spring the most," he said, nodding. "It's a time of rebirth, a time when the cold death of winter can be left behind. When the sun shines, the sky is an amazing shade of pale blue and the warmth seems to reach down into your soul. The grass starts to grow and turn green again. Flowers begin to bloom: golden and orange tulips, white daisies and lilies, and buttercups the color of the sun. Animals come out of their shelters and hibernations. In the Spring, life seems to fill the very air we breathe."

Regina's thoughts strayed to her father. Spring had been his favorite time of year as well. Many times through the years, they had walked the length of their estate together, talking and enjoying the sight of nature coming alive again. Some of the happiest times of her childhood were on those walks with her father during the Spring. She wondered, would she ever experience that with him again?

"Are you all right? You seem like you're somewhere else," Daniel said, his eyes full of concern.

She shook her head absently. "Just thinking about my father. He loved springtime, too."

Daniel stretched his arm out over the table and took her hand. "I know it's hard," he said as he rubbed his thumb over the soft flesh of Regina's hand. "But I'm here. And we both have such good memories to hold on to."

He paused for a heartbeat, and a far away look came over his face as if in deep recollection. "Every year about this time, your father always made a trip down to Charwood," he continued, voice steady. "Most years he stayed just two or three days, but the last spring I was there, he visited for a full week. As was the custom, we spent the first day mainly inspecting the grounds, equipment, and horses and talking with the other workers. Your father was such a hands-on employer. He always made time to hear the concerns of his employees and to ask after their families. He made working for him so rewarding; we felt like we were part of his family. We all loved him. It was kind of hard not to, to be honest."

Regina laughed as a tears streaked down her cheeks. "That sounds like Daddy. He never met anyone that wasn't a future friend."

Daniel smiled and reached to rub her tears away before taking her hand again. "On the western portion of the Charwood property, there's a large spring-fed lake. The locals call it Lake Merribel after the daughter of one of the early kings of Landervas who tragically drowned there while her family was traveling. I remember one morning that week, your father insisted that I join him on a ride to the lake. When we got there, I found that he had two fancily crafted fishing poles stashed in a tree nearby that had a giant hollow in it. We fished and talked for hours and hours. I had always felt like more than just an employee to Henry, but that day I knew it to be true. He thought of me as his friend."

Daniel paused soaking in the pleasant feelings the memory brought on. But then he broke out laughing, and Regina couldn't help but smile at the warm timbre of his laugh and the precious memory of her father he was sharing with her.

"I'll never forget the sight of your father getting down on his knees near the shore to dig for worms in his richly tailored riding suit with light, sandy colored breeches," he chuckled. "I got down to help him, of course, but by the time we had gathered a handful of fat earthworms and stood back up, his pants were muddy from seam to thigh. He must have seen my shocked expression, because he broke out into that full bodied, infectious laughter of his. We both laughed uncontrollably - him at the look on my face and me at his laughter. I don't remember ever laughing so much."

Regina joined in with Daniel's merriment. "I know exactly what you're talking about! His laugh would positively fill our whole house up." The thought of her home and her father's laughter sobered suddenly, and a deep sadness fell over her again. "I miss that laugh; it's been a long time since I heard it. I miss him terribly."

"So do I," Daniel said, squeezing her hand. "I miss his friendship and advice. When I asked him why he ruined his expensive suit, he said to me: 'My dear boy, it's better to get dirty doing something you love than to remain clean doing something you hate. Don't be afraid of the mud, for there are much worse things in life than a ruined pair of pants.' He was a man that loved to defy expectation and he never let anyone or anything dim his outlook on life. More than once, I've told myself: 'that's the kind of man I want to be.'"

Regina stood and crossed to the other side of the table and she sat lightly on Daniel's lap, his hands coming to rest on her waist. She took his face gently between her hands and gave him a sweet, tender kiss. Her richly deep chocolate brown eyes were filled with love. "You must realize, Daniel," she said, "he considered you as his friend and even more, as a son, because he saw that you are already that man. Snow saw that you were already that man. I see you are already that man. Why can't you?"

Under such intense devotion and praise, Daniel ducked his head and blushed. "I suppose I'll just have to try and look at myself through your eyes, because I still don't understand how someone as amazing as you would choose someone as simple as I am."

Regina sighed and tipped his chin, tilting her head to gaze at him while letting her emotions flow freely through her. She wanted to paint a picture for him of just how much she adored him with her eyes and her face and her words.

"I wish you would," she said, running her fingers through his soft brown hair. "Then you would understand just how easy it was for me to give my heart to you. You were patient and gentle with me when you saw I was hurting. You were forceful with me when I was being stubborn. You were a light in my darkness, Daniel, and I love you with everything in me. I could walk the earth from shore to shore and search every kingdom high and low and never find anyone more perfect for me than you."

As the beauty and sincerity of her words washed over him, Daniel felt a warmth flood his chest. He could not imagine what he had ever done to deserve such an amazing woman, but he was thankful beyond words that she was his and he was hers. He could feel the ring he had given her against his scalp as she continued to brush her hand through his hair, and he knew somehow, without absolute certainty, that their love was true and would last forever.

"I want to marry you as soon as possible," he said suddenly. The words that had crossed through his mind had somehow spilled out of his lips, but he found amazingly that he had no desire to take them back. It was all or nothing now. "As soon as you would prefer, I mean. You know I'll wait for you as long as I have to, I just feel so strongly about this, I -"

Daniel's rambling was cut off by a searing kiss, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, bringing her closer to him. When they at last separated, he opened his mouth to speak, but was prevented by two of Regina's slender fingers resting across his lips.

"Hush," she said with a rapturous smile. "Right now would be soon enough for me. But I assume there are traditions here, and I would like to honor them as much as possible. We can talk about it later with your Aunt and Uncle. But yes! As soon as possible, yes!"

Moved by indescribable joy, Daniel unexpectedly burst from the chair, lifting Regina - who shrieked delightfully - with him. Once, twice, and three times he twirled her around laughing happily before lowering her back to the ground.

She leaned against him and buried her into his chest, hugging him as tightly as she could. After a moment of breathing in his scent, she lifted her face to meet his, and she grinned so widely it almost hurt. "Let's get married!"

Daniel's grin matched hers and he nodded. "Let's get married!"


	5. You Have Some Magic In You

**AN**: _Wow, a chapter on time. Score! Hope everyone enjoys this one. More background is given and future events are foreshadowed. There is a bit more dialogue, which is not my strength, but I needed the practice. Only a few more chapters to go before a long time jump and the reintroduction of Snow White into the story. And next chapter, we will get a visit from everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood imp. Read, review, and enjoy! A note: PM me with errors and I will fix them. I hate grammatical and spelling errors!  
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**Disclaimer**: _I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show, though I can't express with words how much I wish I did. They're so very much fun to play with! But alas, I'm merely borrowing them for a while without any thought or intent for my own personal gain._

**Chapter 5** - You Have Some Magic In You

Having returned to her seat, Regina and Daniel ate their breakfast in a happy silence, alternatively smiling, grinning, and blushing at each other between bites of Vera's delectable honey-bread; they were both still in a state of euphoria. However, neither of them were ravenously hungry and both were eager to head outside, so they only ate one slice of bread apiece. After each downing a glass of milk, they stood and headed for the front door and stepped out into the morning air.

Even so early, it was already much warmer than it had been the day before. A brief snap of cold weather had passed through the region, but had apparently moved away during the night. Regina knew before long that she would find her sleeves rolled up her forearms much as Daniel's were.

They walked the grounds all that morning, Daniel taking her from place to place, familiarizing her with the locations of the buildings within the farm and areas surrounding it, explaining in detail the function of each structure as they toured it. He lead her from the foaling barn and the mare stables in the east to the western end of the farm, where his Aunt Vera was planting in her garden; he also showed Regina where Vera kept her flock of sheep nearby. By the time they headed over to the enormous circular training pen in the north, it was mid-afternoon. There was a light sheen of sweat on Regina's brow, so she passed the sleeve of her black blouse over her forehead to wipe the moisture off - it was now rolled up, much as she had predicted.

They found Travis at the training pen holding a saddled stallion by the bridle, leading it around in a circle while occasionally issuing a command in the Ephrayan tongue. He started out slowly walking, but when the horse had adjusted and was in full compliance, he sped up to a faster pace, and then likewise to moderate jog; he would then return to a measured walk. It was readily apparent that the horse Travis was working with was well trained with the maneuver; he completed it flawlessly each time. Regina and Daniel watched this for a some time.

"What's Travis doing?" asked Regina.

"He's preparing the horse for military life," Daniel replied. "Our soldiers are often required to make long marches on foot in order to save the horses for battle. This type of training gets them accustomed to being lead by a soldier on foot at various speeds, from slow all the way up to a double time march. Later on this afternoon, Aunty, Uncle and I will each lead a horse that's been similarly training side-by-side and repeat this process."

"I see," Regina said in understanding. "Getting them used to being lead in formation. Very clever."

Daniel nodded in confirmation. "Our military success has always depended on the Cavalry." As he spoke, Travis continued to lead the stallion and shout commands. Daniel's eyes followed him closely. "Our knights and footmen are as fine as in any of the Ten Kingdoms, but we have always been defined by our Cavalry. There are reasons for that."

He turned to face Regina again. "Most of our horsemen, and certainly the most skilled, hail from this region. Almost all children here learn to ride by the age of eight. But the true secret is in our training methods, especially those of the Benphray family - methods which have been developed and guarded carefully over the course of a thousand years."

Regina's inquisitive nature was sparked by Daniel's last statement and she jumped eagerly at the chance to learn more of his family history. "How long has your family been doing this, training horses, I mean?"

"Since before records began being kept, at least the past five hundred years," he answered, smiling with a proud glint in his eyes. In the periphery, Travis lead the horse he was training out of the pen through a gate at the northern end, leading him to a nearby stall. "According to the family's oral history, which is passed down from father to son, we began our close association with horses when our ancient fathers, twin brothers named Jarmin and Jacin, became the friends of the black-horned unicorns. That particular race of horse became known to us as the Shofkor."

"I can't say I've ever heard tale of them before," Regina said. Her whole demeanor began to radiate an intensely excited curiosity. "Tell me of the Shofkor."

"Well, the legends say many things about them," Daniel began, folding his arms and leaning himself comfortably against the wooden fence of the training pen. "What's true or not, I can't begin to speculate, but I've always accepted our legends as true for the most part.

"There is an inexplicable connection between our family and the Swordsman that could never be explained. It's as if we understand one another on a fundamental level. Our countrymen can ride them as well as we can, but that affinity is not there for them as it is for us. Because of that, no other family in Ephraya has even attempted to breed and train them in more than a three centuries. The legends explain this phenomenon as well. They say it is because Ephran, lord of the Shofkar, and the great-great-grandsire of Phray, accepted Jarmin and Jacin as part of his own family, thus forever bonding our lines."

"Accepted?" Regina inquired, eyes wide. "You mean to say that they had intelligence?"

"According to the legends, yes, they did," Daniel calmly replied. He expected her disbelief. Ephrayan legend was often met with mockery from those who hailed from more civilized nations abroad. The legends concerning his family's history with the horse especially elicited such a reaction. "The Shofkor were not your ordinary horse in many ways. For one, they were larger and stronger than any race of horse that ever lived - bigger even than our Swordsmen, who are their descendants. They could cover a league in the time it took other horses to cover a mile. But the greatest difference was that the Shofkor could communicate with their human companions."

Regina's eyes, if possible, grew even wider. "They could talk?"

"Talk, no," he chuckled, slightly amused. "Communicate, yes. They were a magical race of horses that could speak into and understand the minds of humans they grew attached to. How it worked is not explained.

"Legend says that the Shofkar traveled to our lands from the distant corners of the world after a power-hungry king had wiped out all but two of the unicorn tribes, they and their white, golden-horned cousins, the Soor. The journey far searching for a place to settle, but wherever they went, men tried to tame them and bend them to their own purposes. They searched in vain until they arrived in Ephraya and first encountered our fathers right here on this land - at least, according to the legends."

Regina remained in stunned silence for a long moment, then tilted her head and peered at Daniel with her big, brown eyes. She allowed a mischievous grin to spread across her lips. "Do you talk to horses, Daniel?"

A bark of mirth burst out of his lips and his shoulders shook with merriment. He straightened up, returned her gaze, then grinned back at her. "I can't deny that I do," he said, still chuckling. His eyes twinkled. "Though they never seem to answer me back."

Peals of laughter erupted from Regina at his quip. She doubled over, clutching her stomach, laughing until tears were streaming down her cheeks. When she had somewhat composed herself, she touched his arm, then wiped her face. "Thank you! I needed that."

Daniel smiled crookedly. "Anytime."

From behind them, Travis' booming voice rang out. They turned to face him and found him leading a Swordsman towards them looking bemused. "You told her the legends, didn't you? The talking part, that is."

Daniel nodded, still smiling. "I did."

Travis sauntered up and threw his free arm around Daniel. "That's how he lost his first girlfriend."

"She wasn't my girlfriend," Daniel objected, his face now wearing a scandalized expression.

"Oh, do tell," Regina purred. Daniel glared at her half-heartedly, but that only made her amusement grow.

"She was a red-haired girl from a noble family in King Armand's realm," Travis explained while Daniel sighed audibly. "Her family was traveling through Ephraya on their way to visit King George at his castle. They had to stop and lodge in Arennd for a few days to have their carriage repaired. Daniel must have been fifteen at the time, but when he glimpsed her peeking through the curtains, he fell instantly in love."

"My, my," Regina tutted, placing her hands on her hips and playfully glaring at Daniel. "Instantly in love, you say? Was she pretty?"

"Yes, she was pretty," Daniel grumbled, his face turning pink in embarrassment. Travis chuckled at his discomfort, which only made him blush more deeply. "But I did not fall in love with her. We struck up a friendship. It was nice - innocent and nice."

"Until you told her about the talking," said Travis, laughing once again. He clapped Daniel once on the back, then turned back to his horse and patted it's nose affectionately.

"Yes, yes," Daniel replied, sighing dramatically. "She didn't seem to want to keep my company after that."

Regina pulled Daniel, who was feigning dejection, into a tight hug. "My poor Daniel," she cooed, while sharing a grin with Travis over his shoulder. "Things worked out for the better, though, did they not?"

Daniel pulled away from her, now smiling sweetly. "They worked out for the best," he replied, giving her cheek a peck. Putting his embarrassment behind him, Daniel turned to his uncle who was brushing his hand down the length of his horse's snout. "Is that Amit?"

"It is indeed," Travis said. Amit nudged the older man as if he understood he was being talked about. "I just put Samuel in the stall for a rest. I had Amit out earlier for a ride and was going to take him back to the main stables. Boas and Laufer are there and need to be brought up to the pen and worked a bit. We can group train as soon as Vera is finished with the planting."

Daniel nodded in agreement. "If it's alright, I'd like to take Regina for a ride while we wait."

"I don't see any problem with that," Travis replied. "I'll go get the other two saddled and ready, then." He handed Daniel the reins and turned to Regina. "Daniel told me you were a naturally gifted rider, so just be careful and trust your instincts. Swordsmen have an innate sense of what their riders are feeling. In a lot of ways, riding them is easier than a normal horse because they are so responsive. But you never can tell how they will react to strangers. Daniel's here, though; they've always listened to him, even when he could barely talk."

"Thank you for the advise, Travis," Regina said in a grateful tone.

Travis nodded once and smiled, then turned to walk away as Daniel then extended the reins to her. Regina took the reins in her hands and opened her mouth to ask Daniel a question, but something unexpected happened. Without prompt, Amit stepped as close as he could to her and nudged her right arm away from her body, tucking his head into her side and rubbing against her with his nose. Her eyes shot to Daniel's in confusion, silently asking him what was happening.

Daniel's own eyes were wide in astonishment. A heartbeat hadn't passed before his voice called out to his departing uncle. "Uncle Travis! Uncle Travis!"

Thinking something had gone horribly wrong, Travis abruptly turned and ran the thirty or so yards that separated them. He ground to a halt and stood in amazement when he saw what was happening. After a silence in which he gathered his thoughts, he said, "Well, it seems you have some magic in you, Regina."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked. Amit continued to brush his face against her side, so she lowered her right hand and began to gently stroke his mane.

"It means," said Travis, "that in all my years and in all my father's years and his father's before him for untold generations, nothing like this has ever happened before to someone outside of our family. He's chosen you."

"Chosen me?" she asked, still not quite comprehending what Travis was trying to say.

"He's chosen you to be his rider," Daniel interjected in explanation. "For members of our family, that's how it's always been. When we come of age to have a horse of our own, usually around the age of thirteen, we're sent out into the field alone. It's a ritual we've all undergone - my father, my uncle Travis, me, and even my aunt Vera. We call it 'walking the field'.

"It began with Jarmin and Jacin, who were chosen by two of Ephran's sons. The experience is never the same for two people. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes it's days until your horse chooses you. I think for Uncle Travis, it was five hours before Brelin chose him."

Travis nodded. "Vera walked the field for two days when she married into the family," he said. "Jonathan, my older brother and Daniel's father, walked for five hours also. But Daniel was chosen within an hour. That as well had never happened before, at least to my knowledge."

Amit had ceased nuzzling against Regina's side, contenting himself to rest his head in the crook of her elbow. She couldn't begin to describe the feelings that were coursing through her. A calm serenity had replaced her momentary fear and confusion, flowing freely through her entire being. It was as if she could feel Amit's affection and approval as her own. Continuing to stroke her hand through his mane as Daniel and Travis spoke, she chose to remain silent, but absorbed every word they said.

"What do you think it means?" asked Daniel.

"I think it means I've trained Regina's horse," Travis answered with a wry grin. "Amit just finished his advanced training two weeks ago. Other than that, who's to say? I know what the legend says about the return as well as you do."

Daniel's eyes lit up at his uncle's mention of a specific portion of the legend that had always fascinated him. He had spent so many hours as a youth envisioning it happening in his mind, so he knew very well what Travis was referring to and what was predicted to transpire. "The return," he whispered with a great deal of reverence.

"Yes," said Travis, "but I've never taken much stock in what I can't see with my own eyes or touch with my own fingers. Prophecy is for those who tinker in things best left to fate. Truly, I would like to believe, but I'm afraid to hope. After all, maybe Amit just really likes her."

"Maybe," Daniel replied seriously. "That remains to be seen."

"What is 'the return'?" Regina asked.

"It's part of the legend which even Ephrayans outside of our family are familiar with," answered Daniel. "It describes how the Shofkar will return to our people. In the eve of the greatest time of crisis - a time in which the very existence of our world is threatened - a black-horned unicorn will be born on the same day as our future king. What will happen after that is not said."

"Take it as you will," said Travis, clapping Daniel on the back once more. "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare Boas and Laufer for their training."

"All right," said Daniel. "We'll be back within an hour. Where is Asa?"

"He's grazing," Travis answered. "Your saddle is hanging in the stall where you left it." With that, he began to walk away from them again.

Daniel turned and found Regina holding Amit's bridle. The Swordsman was motioning his head up and down at her with a glint in his eyes. "I think he's ready for a ride." Amit motioned his head again, this time even more vigorously, which made them both chuckle. "He senses your excitement," Daniel explained. He walked toward the stall to retrieve his saddle with Regina and Amit following close behind.

"I am excited," she said as they walked. Her eyes danced with barely contained joy. "Oh, I can't even tell you what it's like! Feeling so close to him, so connected; it's amazing!"

"It was like that for me both times," said Daniel. "My first horse was a mare named Elbeth. She was the strongest mare I've ever known. I'll never forget how I felt when she chose me, and it was much the same with Asa."

"More than one can choose you?" Regina asked.

"No," Daniel answered. His voice took on a strange, sad quality. "Only one Swordsman will choose you at a time. The others all respect that bond, as do we."

"What happened to Elbeth, then?"

Regina thought it an innocent question, as she was still caught up in the euphoric feelings of being chosen by Amit. But for a long time, Daniel didn't answer. They kept walking until they stopped in front of the barn. Daniel faced her, his face full of grief.

"She died protecting me from a black bear that had wandered out from the Lonely Forest," he said. "If you've heard any tales about that place, you know about the animals that live there. They're twisted and feral. I didn't have long to get a good look at the bear, but it was huge, and it's eyes were such a bright red, they seemed to glow with hatred. It was unreal how quickly it moved."

Daniel's speech faded as that particular scene played in his head. Having passed through the Lonely Forest only days before, Regina well remembered the havoc it had wrought on her mind in the short time they had spent traveling through it. She couldn't begin to imagine what kind of horrors it held within it's inky depths, or even what kind of effect it could have on a hungry animal that passed into it's darkness in search of food. Perhaps that was what had happened to that bear.

Beside her, Amit hung his head and snorted as if he were sharing her hurt for her future husband. She could see in Daniel's face how much it hurt him to talk about Elbeth. Try as he might to hide his pain from her, it was plainly written by his body language - shoulders hunched, arms crossed protectively over his chest, eyes fixed on a point somewhere in the distance. He had a demeanor that screamed to her: 'It hurts, but I'm holding it in because I want to protect you.' However, she didn't dare interrupt his thoughts, knowing instinctively that it was something he had been holding on to for far too long - something that he needed to get out.

Daniel started talking again with a tight voice, shuffling around some rocks with his feet. "There's an area of the forest that curves northward into our territory; we were skirting very close to the edge, perhaps ten yards away. I was unarmed and the woods were downwind to us. Neither of us saw it until it was too late. Those few moments are something else I'll never forget. Elbeth reared and in my shock, I wasn't holding on, so I fell. For a split second, all I could feel was her panic and mine, but then I felt her desire for me to run in the back of my mind more clearly and strongly than anything I had ever felt from her. Before I could even react she bolted towards the bear."

Hanging his head, Daniel's jaw clenched at the onslaught of memories and feelings associated with them. "I think I screamed, but I don't know how I could have; I could barely even breathe. I remember very clearly starting to run, though. It was as if I had no control over my own body. That push in my mind from her to run was so violent, it was as if I had no choice but to obey it. I hadn't made it very far when I heard her cries and felt a white hot pain in my chest, but I couldn't stop running. It didn't last long, just a minute or two, and then I just felt numb. It was eight or ten miles back to the farm, and I don't think the tears stopped the whole way."

Having felt the depth of the connection when she was chosen by Amit, Regina couldn't imagine what it would be like for that to be ripped away. Her chest constricted and tears pricked at her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice a mournful whisper.

Allowing his eyes at last to meet hers, Daniel gave her a watery smile. Though he knew his eyes still held some sadness, he had felt a great relief talking about his loss so freely. He held himself more upright and his countenance somewhat brightened. "Me, too. She was my best friend."

She took his hand and gripped it. "How did you get past such pain?"

"I realized that she did what she did because she loved me," he answered. "And because I loved her, I had to honor her sacrifice by living the best life I could. That's what I've done. I became the man I am right now that day. To most people, the death of a horse would be a ridiculous impetus for an epiphany. But not to me, and not to you. I know you understand now."

"I do," Regina replied. She released Amit's reins from her hand and drew Daniel into an embrace, resting her head against his chest as she had done many times before. "It must have been horrible for you. But I'm grateful that you're here, that she saved you. I can't imagine a life without you in it now. I could bear any burden or sustain any loss so long as you're with me. But if I lost you, Daniel, I'm sure I would lose myself as well."

"You won't lose me," whispered Daniel. His hand tenderly rubbed soothing circles over her back.

Feeling left out, Amit's nose nudged between them. As they parted, they both chuckled; Daniel scratched Amit's head behind his ears and Regina rubbed his nose.

"We won't keep you waiting any longer, my friend," said Daniel. Peering into the distant fields, he took two fingers, stuck them in his mouth and whistled loudly three times. "Asa will be along shortly. I'm going to fetch my saddle."

Daniel turned and walked into the stall. He found his saddle hanging on the wall by a hook, just where he had left it some six years before. It was almost exactly alike to the one he had left behind at the Mills' estate: black, with golden and silver trim, and the name Benphray inscribed on the cantle. Smiling, Daniel removed the saddle from the hook and brushed off the light sheen of dust that had gathered on it's surface.

Given to him by his Aunt and Uncle on his sixteenth birthday, his saddle was an immense source of pride for Daniel. It represented independence for the individual, and was a proclamation that they were now old enough and responsible enough to care for their horse on their own. It was one of several major milestones in a Benphray's life. Their first ride on a Swordsman was one, usually occurring at the age of eight. Another was being chosen for the first time at thirteen; this was perhaps the most important event for a member of the family.

However, the saddle had meaning far beyond the developmental landmark it represented. It had once rested proudly on Elbeth's back, so it was a constant memorial of her presence in his life. When the grief over her loss was still fresh, looking at the saddle had been a painful reminder of that awful day. But as time wore on and the grief had passed, it brought up many happy memories of afternoon rides and lakeside naps. And now Asa wore it every bit as proudly as Elbeth had.

Hearing the easily recognizable noise of a horse's fast paced gait not far in the distance outside the stall, Daniel exited, saddle in hand. Regina was once again holding a calm-looking Amit by the bridle, patiently waiting just outside the entrance. Not very far away, Asa's black mane ruffled and blew wildly in the wind as he galloped towards them.

To most outsiders, all Swordsmen looked alike, as they all had black hair and the distinctive white sword that adorned their forehead and snout. To a trained eye, however, there were many qualities that made each animal unique. The color of the eyes, length and width of the snout, height to the shoulder, and small patches of white on the inside of the legs or the belly were all means of distinguishing individuals. Asa, for instance, had blue eyes much like Daniel's. He was nearly twenty hands high, had a long, thin snout, and a strange, rectangular shaped section of hair on his belly. On the other hand, Amit had dark green eyes, a snout that was long but broad, was eighteen hands tall and jet black from head to toe - other than his sword, of course.

Asa slowed to a stop a pace in front of Daniel and greeted him with a snort and a nodding of his head.

"Hello again, my friend," said Daniel, taking Asa's bridle and caressing the side of his face. The horse's eyes slid shut as he ducked his head, then stepped forward to nudge Daniel's side with his nose, just as Amit had done with Regina. "I have missed you terribly! But I'm back home now, and won't be leaving again."

Daniel looked up to Regina and smiled, then guided Asa's head up and lead him over to her. "This is Regina, she's going to be my wife some day soon." At this, she extended her hand and touched Asa's nose. He rubbed it affectionately; Regina took it as acceptance. "We brought your son, Sebastian with us. He's stabled right next to you. I'll take you to see him after we ride."

Regina began to make another joke about Daniel talking to horses, but was stopped by the surprising new information. "Asa is Sebastian's sire?"

"He is, indeed," answered Daniel. "His dam is a white mare we call Lady Winter. Swordsmen are not the only horses we breed and train here, and I wanted some part of Asa to be with me. When your father told me he was looking for your first horse, I knew no better animal than Sebastian, so I sold him to your father."

Thoughts of Sebastian and all they had been through together suddenly flooded Regina's mind and she worried what effect Amit would have him. "How do you think he'll react to Amit?"

"I shouldn't think it will be a problem," Daniel replied, easing her worries. "Asa is not the only horse I ride, either. Just don't forsake one for the other and all will be well."

Regina nodded, then watched silently as Daniel saddled Asa. He had a way with horses like no one she had ever known. His movements were precise and efficient, well practiced so that no energy at all was wasted in the task. Asa stood serene and confident as Daniel worked. Regina had seen many horses be calm while being saddled, but never so still except when Daniel's hand was the one guiding and securing the straps. When he had tied the cinch securely, he took hold of the reins.

"Do you need a hand mounting?" he asked.

Regina smirked over at him, but did not reply. In a short, well practiced sequence, she shortened the reins in her hand, resting them on Amit's neck. She then took a gentle hold on his mane, sat her foot in the stirrup, and with a couple of preparatory bounces, propelled herself up into the saddle.

"I guess not," Daniel said drolly. He mounted Asa with ease and patted his neck affectionately. "Are you ready, my friend?" Asa nickered in excitement. Daniel then canted his head toward Regina. "After you, my love."

With a shout of excitement, Regina lightly touched her heel to Amit's side and he sprung off in a full gallop, with Asa and Daniel along side them. The sensation of such a powerful animal being under her was overwhelming; Vera was right, it was a thrilling experience. Her heart pounded in tune to the beat of Amit's hooves against the ground, earth being torn and tossed with each step. The wind whipped around her as they sped through the field. She could feel the freedom and happiness Amit was projecting coursing through her, mixing with her own; together, they created a feeling so intense that she could not contain it. She whooped blissfully. Beside her, she heard Daniel hooting and laughing as well.

For miles and miles they rode side-by-side, initially heading east and then veering south near the border of the expansive Benphray farm. The day had grown comfortably warm, as the sun had nearly crested in the sky. Amit and Asa seemed to have inexhaustible stores of energy; they galloped on as steadily as when they had first begun. Soon, they passed within sight of the Lonely Forest, and by silent agreement, they both slowed their horses to a halt and then turned back to the farm.

Rather than push the horses, they chose to ride back at a lazy pace, alternating between a trot and a canter. They took the time to talk as they rode. Regina asked Daniel what would happen once they were married. He informed her that he and his Uncle Travis had already talked at length about that subject while she was bathing and then helping Vera in the kitchen the evening before. They had decided that the best plan was to add a new wing to the house that would be connected to the manor by only a breezeway, thus giving them complete privacy.

He further explained that they would travel into Arennd tomorrow to see the blacksmith and other merchants to order and procure what supplies they could, such as nails and glass for the windows. They would also send a letter to the carpenter in Durrel with an order for cut, planed wood and to the stone mason for foundation stones. In the coming days, as the materials began to arrive, he and his uncle would begin construction on the addition they would live in for the beginning years of their married life. He estimated it would take them three months to build.

Travis had also mentioned to Daniel his plan that in no more than five years and no fewer than two, he and Vera would scale back their involvement in the farm. The Benphray farm had always been Daniel's future, and that had not changed by his long absence. At that time, they would move into the addition and cede the main house to Daniel and Regina. Travis had then explained to Daniel that he and Vera had a long-held desire to travel for a time before returning to the farm to spend their remaining years in peace. Turning over the day-to-day operations to their nephew and his wife would give them the liberty to pursue their dream.

Regina was, quite honestly, a bit overwhelmed. Yet, she was also excited. A new phase of her life was about to begin, one full of hope and promise - one unencumbered by the weight of the past. Though it seemed as if the next several years of her life were planned out, she found she welcomed the prospect of losing herself in the love and companionship of family and the hard work it took to run the farm. Her future with Daniel held an undeniable appeal, especially when compared to the constant shadow of uncertainty and fear her mother had cast over her whole life. Daniel gave her stability; in a time of turmoil, it was what she needed most.

When they at last crested the hill and came in view of the training pen, Travis and Vera could be seen leading horses toward the gate. The older couple stopped and waved to the happy young lovers. Daniel and Regina waved back as their horses cantered down the hill toward the pen.

Regina could see a stud of Swordsmen forming in the field between them and the pen. She wondered absently what they were doing, but paid no attention to them. Then she and Daniel passed into the midst of the gathering horses. Unexpectedly, Amit and Asa stopped and stood still.

"What's happening?" she asked Daniel, the beginnings of worry creeping through her mind.

"I don't know. They've never done anything like this before," he replied. He looked into her eyes and the steadiness he always possessed helped to anchor her. "Just stay calm. We'll be fine. I trust them."

In mere moments, no less than thirty Swordsmen had surrounded them, fanning out to form a large circle with Daniel, Regina, and their horses in the center. Regina glanced in the distance to see Travis and Vera standing motionless with wide eyes. No one dared to move.

For a long while, nothing happened. Everyone remained completely still, horse and man alike. There was a slight tension in the air as if some great decision was being made or some vitally important event were about to transpire. Minutes passed.

Suddenly, the largest and most grand of all the Swordsmen stepped toward them out of the head of the circle. He was a massive animal. His muscles rippled, veins bulging as he strode forward one step at a time. His nose was flared at the end of his wide, powerful snout, and his eyes were wide and grave. Head proudly erect, each step measured and precise, he looked almost regal. The other Swordsmen snorted and whinnied as he marched toward them.

He came to a stop ten paces in front of Daniel and Regina and a hush once again fell over the circle of horses. Daniel remained stoic and still; Regina drew strength from him to do the same.

"Melek," Daniel said, breaking the silence and announcing the name of the lordly horse before them.

Melek did nothing for a long moment. But then he extended his right leg far in front of himself, lowering his weight onto his left leg, which folded underneath him. His hindquarters remained rigidly upright. Then he lowered his neck until the back of his head formed a straight plane with his back and hindquarters. Regina was confused for an instant until she realized with a start that Melek was bowing. As if that act were not astonishing enough, she realized that all around them, every horse in the circle had bowed as Melek had.

Daniel was speechless, eyes wide and mouth agape. His mind was racing. He had thought himself well versed in the behavior and mannerisms of the Swordsman. Uncle Travis had told him many times that he had never known anyone who knew the race of horses as instinctively as he did. But something was happening that he had neither seen, nor heard of, and that his instincts could not explain. He remained silent, but out of some unknown compulsion, Daniel dismounted from Asa and extended his hand out for Regina to do the same. She likewise dismounted Amit and took his hand. Together, they stepped in front of the bowing Melek.

With a gentle hand, Daniel touched the back of Melek's head. Words came without effort to call them, and he found himself speaking, his voice was clear and strong, carrying over the field. "Rise, my friend," he said. "You have no master here, only friends and family. Rise my friends and be at peace!"

As one, all of the Swordsmen rose at Daniel's voice, standing proud and tall. Melek nudged Daniel very gently with his nose, then returned to his position at the head of the circle. The noble Swordsman faced them one last time, quickly bowed his head, then turned and galloped away. He and Regina watched as the other horses followed his lead, dispersing quietly through the field in every direction, with some ambling over the hill and disappearing over the horizon.

Travis and Vera soon appeared in front of them, faces glowing. "Well, well," Travis said to them both, a wide grin on his face. "I was more right that I could ever thought. I guess I'll have to start taking more stock in those legends. You both have some magic in you!"


	6. Trouble in Amistrenel

_**AN**_: _Sorry for the lack of an update last week. My apologies! To make up for that, I'll be posting twice this week. The chapter I was working on meandered again and I found it suited to be divided into two chapters. I just need to edit the 2nd one and I'll post it tomorrow or Saturday. This chapter has some action. I hope I did it justice. Looking forward to hearing what y'all think. As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, watching, etc.!_

_**Disclaimer**_: _I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show. I'm merely borrowing them for a while without thought or intent for my own personal gain._

Chapter 6 - Trouble in Amistrenel

Regina awoke with a start at the loud, persistent trilling of a bluebird. Early morning sunlight cascaded into the room in solid waves of yellow light, bathing the bedroom in a soft golden glow. From the bed, she could see the distant horizon. Miles of clear azure blue stretched across the sky, punctuated by long, thin, airy clouds. The sun hung low on the horizon, half-concealed by the gently rising hills as it began it's daily trek through the heavens. Another day of fine weather awaited.

It had been two months since she and Daniel had emerged from the lurking depths of the Lonely Forest and had traveled through Arennd before finally reaching the Benphray farm. Due to the busy schedule they had kept since their arrival, it seemed to Regina that only days had passed. She was a proud woman and anxious to pull her own weight, so she buried herself in working. At times, she barely had time to think as she focused herself on repetitive tasks and mechanical precision. After the frantic, danger fraught journey they had endured, such work was a welcome relief.

For his part, Daniel had slid seamlessly back into his previous role at the farm. Every morning he woke early to help Travis care for the horses and train them. Daniel's calm strength and natural affinity for the tasks had taken a great burden off of his strong, yet aging uncle. Travis worked because he wanted to, but he well-recognized the fact that Daniel was ready to run the farm on his own. Pride was an oft present fixture on Travis' face as he labored beside his nephew whom he had so diligently taught.

Regina had been helping Vera with her tasks each morning before joining the whole family at the training pen to observe all she could. Being the sharp-minded, intuitive person that she was, she picked up the intricacies of theory quickly. Within a month's time, she was stepping inside the pen in order to put theory into practice.

She had not begun on a Swordsman, of course, but rather on a gray, dappled mare being trained for menial military work. As with all initiates, there had been a few close calls. In one instance during the first hour, she had slipped while leading the horse around the pen at a brisk pace and nearly been trampled. It had been fortunate that she had rolled away on instinct and that Daniel had remained in close enough proximity to almost immediately take control of the horse. By and large, however, she had adapted quickly and with no small delight found herself to be as natural at the horse trade as she was at riding.

Busy as they both were, she and Daniel managed to find time every day to ride Amit and Asa. Though nothing as extraordinary had occurred like the events of that first day with Melek, every moment Regina spent on Amit's back was magical. Each second the landscape was passing by in a blur to the sound of pounding hooves and the whistling wind whipping all around her, the feeling of adrenaline and freedom surged like fire through her veins. As time passed, she began to feel the same thrill coursing over the connection between her and Amit, which only deepened with every outing. Sharing such experiences with Daniel only served to strengthen the bond of love between them.

Only once had darkness intruded upon their happiness. Two weeks after Travis had told Daniel about his parent's situation, word had come through Durrel that the plague had burned itself out as hoped, though the village was a total loss. Daniel's parents were dead; he was devastated. For days grief had descended upon the household and veiled every moment with heartache and misery. Regina had not strayed more than a few steps from Daniel during the time that followed the news. Loving him was all she could do for him. Casting propriety aside at his insistence, for the first time since their flight she had slept each night under her white blanket with him curled up in her arms.

"Please," he had pleaded. "I love you and I need you. You're the only thing that keeps away the sadness."

Pain had radiated from his eyes as he entreated her, like an ever-tightening rope constricting her heart. She had found it impossible in his grief to deny him. He never openly wept, but that first night she had felt him quake tensely as warm tears wet the curve of her neck. Daniel slept fitfully for many days, never really resting. The period of mourning had lasted for a week before the demands of the farm and slow acceptance broke the darkness.

After that, life had gradually returned almost to normal. Sadness lingered in Daniel's eyes at times, but he began laughing and smiling again and his kisses regained their tingly warmth. In the evenings after supper, work began again on the addition to the house they would live in once they were married. Daniel poured much of his focus and energy into it's construction. "The exertion is cathartic," he had said.

He and Travis would have labored until after dusk each night except a number of farmhands had unexpectedly volunteered their help. Their gesture had stunned Regina, as no such thing had ever happened at her home. Their employees loved her father, but dared not spend longer on their estate than necessary out of fear of her mother. But she had discovered very early on that Daniel, Travis, and Vera were special people. The selfless action of the workers on their behalf served as further confirmation of what she already knew in her heart.

Construction on the addition was moving along at a fevered pace considering the few hours being dedicated each night. The foundations were laid and the framing, roofing, and siding finished. Work on the inside had begun in earnest the week before, and progress was rapidly being made. Daniel had told her the previous evening that the goal of completion within three months was well within reach. That was a signal that the preparations for their wedding could soon begin.

Each night before retiring to bed, Regina would stand in front of the furthest window on the eastern end of the house - where the addition was being built - and gaze in awe at the growing structure that would soon be her very own home. As she stood there silently, she often allowed her consciousness to wander. Vivid, living images would fill her mind.

In the window sill, the bluebird continued to chirp merrily, momentarily breaking her thoughts. Regina sat up and regarded her little friend. "Good morning to you," she said with a yawn. The little bluebird hopped around the window sill voicing it's reply in a series of high-pitched tweets. Regina laughed.

Each morning since she had been at the Benphray farm, she had awakened to the song of a bluebird in her window. She had a sharp eye and could tell that the bird was never the same individual until at least a fortnight later, when the procession began again. Regina could not quite work out a rhyme or reason to their behavior, but without fail when she woke, tiny black eyes framed delicately by bright blue feathers peered at her through the glass and a greeting song was sung in her honor.

As the days wore on, Regina began to suspect they were actually attempting to communicate with her, though she could never decipher their words. When that thought first occurred to her, she had laughed at the absurdity of such a thing until she had remembered Daniel's stories, and what happened with Amit and then Melek. After that, the possibility had no longer had seemed so far fetched. She had recently begun speaking to them in turn after their morning acknowledgments. Perhaps one day, she would be able to translate the twittering and tweeting into words. Until then, she was content to enjoy their melodies.

As the little bird in the window continued to serenade her, Regina sat up in bed and draped her arms over her knees. She smiled as he sang his beautiful song. "I keep seeing these wonderful scenes in my mind," she told him when his singing had paused. "Things I never really dared to imagine before. A happy life with a husband, children, and a family - my very own happy ending. Sometimes they're just idle fancying when I look at our house and imagine the possibilities. But sometimes they seem like so much more. They can feel so real that I could reach out and touch them. I even see them in dreams on occasion. I wonder, little friend, what they could mean?"

Taking a deep cleansing breath, Regina allowed the visions she often saw at night to flood her imagination. An absent, ethereal smile covered her face as the illusory, yet achingly real sights and sounds of children laughing and giggling filled her mind and her heart. With a clarity almost too astonishing to be daydreaming, she could see a small boy playing with his younger sister, tickling her sides as she struggled to get away from him. His strong, angular face, adorned with a familiar crooked grin, was bright and happy. He had hair as dark as midnight, neatly arranged and parted to one side save a patch at his forehead that rebelliously stood straight. His eyes were deep, expressive pools of chocolate brown. The little girl was beautiful, her flaxen haired braided down her back. When she laughed or smiled, her symmetrically high cheekbones creased. She had piercing blue eyes which crinkled and sparkled with innocent joy. As the vision faded from her mind, Regina prayed fervently - as she oft did - that it was not an illusion, but a glimpse into the near future.

With a sigh, she climbed out of bed and dressed quickly, choosing a white riding blouse and tan pants. Having dressed, she crossed to the doorway and slid on a pair of wool socks and her boots. Before she left the room, Regina bade goodbye to the bluebird in the window. He cocked his head to the side and then appeared to nod, flying away in silence. "Good luck and speedy travels, little friend," she whispered.

It was the last Sunday morning of the month and very little was going on around the farm. Vera had informed Regina the night before that her own duties for the day would be very light, so she could have the day to herself to do as she pleased. She had noticed an evergreen forest to the northwest on one of her rides with Daniel, so she determined that today was a perfect day for exploring it. After a quick breakfast of honey-bread and apple slices - which delighted her because it was her favorite fruit - Regina set off hastily for the stables and saddled Sebastian. She remembered that Daniel had instructed her long ago to never ride alone without a weapon, so she grabbed a sheathed rapier that was hanging on the wall and strapped it to her belt.

The sun was almost completely over the horizon when she and Sebastian took off to the northwest. They rode for nearly a quarter-hour until they reached the edge of the forest. In comparison to the huge sprawling breadth of the Lonely Forest, it was rather miniscule. But what it lacked it size, it compensated with density. Daniel had told her it was called Amistrenel, or "_the place of refuge_". There was a particular story about the origin of it's name.

Five hundred years earlier, a renegade ogre army had rampaged through the region burning everything in their path. They pillaged, plundered, and murdered with impunity. People in the surrounding villages had tried to defend their homes to no avail. As a last resort, they sought refuge in the forest. The ogres had attacked the villagers time and time again through the thick underbrush, but they were always driven back. On the final assault, the chieftain of the ogre clan was killed. After his death, the remaining forces broke and ran, disappearing north as quickly as they had came. Countless lives, homes, and livestock had been lost in the raids, but the forest refuge had saved the region from slavery or utter annihilation. To the locals, Amistrenel became a venerated area. Early in his reign, when King George had set out to modernize his kingdom by building a system of roads, only a minimally invasive path was permitted to penetrate it's sacred depths. It was the road that connected Durrel to the region of Ephraya where the village that was once Daniel's home now lay extinct and fallow.

Regina nudged Sebastian forward down the narrow path that wound it's way through the innumerable trees and hedges. A nearly impenetrable wall of green and brown lined each side of the road, extending far up into the air. With her keen mind, Regina understood immediately how easily such an area could be turned into a formidable defensive position.

The flat dirt road was only barely illuminated by what few rays of sunshine managed to penetrate the thick canopy overhead. It appeared to resemble a vast green blanket perforated sparsely by thin, round holes through which light flood in. The depths of the forest disappeared into inky darkness.

On she rode for nearly an hour, content to let the quiet of the surrounding woodland soothe her. Soon, however, her legs began ache, and so Regina pulled Sebastian to a stop in an alcove dug into the foliage on the side of the road. She dismounted gracefully and lead him to a strong, low-hanging branch where she picketed him. Compelled by curiosity, she stepped into the forest proper, brushing branches of many shapes and sizes out of her way as she trudged through the thick underbrush of the forest. After a minute, she passed through the hedges that lined the roadside and found that the forest cleared a great deal within it's proper depths.

Regina walked for a great while in fascination, studying the various trees, bushes, and flowers that grew within Amistrenel. Time seemed to pass like water through a sieve as she took in the sights around her. She allowed her hand to brush the rough bark of the many different fir and pine trees that grew all around. Dark green ferns with thin, jagged leaves grew around the trunks, some small, some rising nearly two feet up in the air. Giant roots jutted out from the ground like great, submerged gnarled fingers that clawed at the earth. They were often covered in moss, which coated the forest floor like a downy earthen blanket.

After surveying the area near the road for some time, she sat down and sighed in contentment. Leaning back casually against the base of a large fir, Regina picked a few royal blue hyacinths growing nearby and inhaled their sweetness. She absently twirled them between her fingers and allowed her gaze to wander.

A stone's throw away from her, orchids grew in a picturesque patch, brilliantly colored purple, pink, and white. The air was full of the sounds life: the brush of the wind through the trees, squirrels darting from limb to limb, the wings of birds flapping and their lively voices singing merry songs. Life seemed tranquil and at ease in the depths of Amistrenel.

Long moments of contented silence passed before a strange, uneasy feeling passed through her. She tensed a bit, holding her breath and straining her ears. In the distance, near the road where she had left Sebastian picketed, Regina heard faint voices talking. Not daring to move and hoping they would pass on, she waited. But the voices began to grow clearer, joined by the clodding of boots against the turf. A terrible shiver shot up her spine, but she remained motionless. As they grew closer, she identified the voices as male - at least four of them - and could begin make out what they were saying.

"I tell you, the path to riches leads through here," one said. His was a deep, forceful voice - the voice of a leader.

"We shoulda just taken the horse and left," said another, much higher voice. "It's worth a pretty penny alone, I say."

"No," commanded the leader. "The saddle is as fine as I've ever seen. And that was no ordinary horse. Whoever rode him is wealthy. Perhaps wealthy enough to fetch a sizable ransom."

Regina's heart clenched and her throat constricted as his words registered. Captivity. Fear gripped her. Whatever might happen, she refused to be taken prisoner. It would be better for her to die a thousand deaths than face the horror she knew that would entail. Sliding carefully up the trunk of the tree, Regina fingered the handle of the rapier at her side. The voices grew ever closer; their heavy footsteps seemed to pound in her ears.

"Ransom, pah!" a third voice exclaimed. Regina heard him spitting in contempt at the idea. "Just kill 'em and take what's on their person. Trouble is all you get from holding a prisoner for ransom, if not much worse."

Her eyes widened and she fought to keep her breathing steady. She would not give herself away to these vagabonds until she was revealing herself with glinting steel. She was Regina Mills, after all. As her mother had trained her in stern discipline, manners, and courtly behavior, her father had taught her business and the sword. He had been a master swordsman in his youth, a paragon of skill amongst his noble peers. He passed his knowledge and training on to his only child. Her mother thought it terribly un-ladylike, but for some unknown reason did not protest. Regina had never been more grateful for her father's diligence.

"What do you know?" the fourth voice suddenly spat. "Landervasian ingrates! We took you both into our company in good faith. Petty theft will barely feed four mouths. But ransom can make us all very rich men. Very rich indeed!"

"Better poor than dead," the third replied angrily. They were very close now, very nearly on top of her. "But have it your way. I just hope for all our sakes he's not a fighter."

Sensing a thread of weakness in the group of bandits, Regina's courage returned in full force. Her face took on a grim smile and her eyes darkened into deadly pools of black. Her back straightened, adrenaline began to race through her body, and her muscles coiled in preparation. Veins in her temples and hands pulsed as her blood pumped ever-faster. She drew her rapier and took a deep breath, centering herself on her blade as her father had taught her.

The leader of the group of bandits was about to yell at his compatriots when Regina sprang from behind her tree and fell upon them, leaving them barely enough time to draw their own, much heavier swords. They aligned, startled, into a loose semi-circle, not sure what to do. In a stroke of good fortune, she noticed immediately to her delight that they stood from left to right, smallest to largest.

Focusing on the left flank, the smallest of the men, Regina sprang forward with lightning speed. He swung his sword once sloppily, the others dumbly watching as if rooted to the ground. She ducked nimbly under the blow and brought the pommel of her rapier down on his temple. He crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Seeing their comrade fall, the three remaining bandits recovered their wits quickly and tried to surround her. Her mind filtered through dozens of tactics in an instant. Regina knew without a doubt she could not let them pen her in. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly.

With a cry, she darted forward, sliding on one knee between the nearest two - the ones who had stood closest to the bandit she had just knocked out. On instinct, both men stabbed at her simultaneously. Ducking her head back as she slipped through the gap, she felt the wind from their swords against her face and a sharp pain against her upper lip. Coming to the other side of them, she found to her amazement that she was still alive and that the each of the brigands' swords had deposited in the other's gut. With guttural screams, they too collapsed to the floor writhing in agony.

Regina was left facing the last of her attackers, incidentally also the largest of them. Blood ran down her lips and chin from her wound. She licked it tentatively and found it deep enough to leave a scar.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the hulking man said, his deep voice full of barely muted rage. Regina recognized this man's voice as the first she heard, the one she assumed was the leader. They faced each other and regarded one another silently for a moment. "What's your name, girl?"

"Regina," she replied confidently. "And you? What may I call you for the short time you have remaining on this earth?"

The brutish man's jaw tensed but he did not attack. He gripped his sword - a rapier much like Regina's - tighter in his hand. "You may call me Valgar," he said. "Though I doubt it will be my time on this earth that is short. However, I must confess, I'm impressed by your skill and confidence. You fight well for a girl."

"And how does it feel to be bested by a girl?" Regina retorted, grinning mockingly. She noticed that the two men who had stabbed one another were now silent. "I don't hear your comrades complaining very much. Of course, they seem to be otherwise occupied."

"Watch your tongue, girl, or I'll relieve you of it," he warned, brow furrowing. His face grew hard and menacing. "You bested three idiots, I grant you that. But I am no idiot. I was trained in the King's army. I will not be defeated quite so easily."

Regina raised a black eyebrow, then smirked. "Should I be impressed? My father always told me that the bigger they are, they harder they fall." Regina laughed at the furious expression on his face. "And you want to cut my tongue out, do you? I'd like to see you try." She extended her sword toward him with a taunting smile and took her stance.

Valgar chuckled darkly. "Very well, girl. Have it your way."

"Come on then," she antagonized, waving the tip of her sword in a circle. "Show me how a real man fights."

With a feral grin, he leapt forward and slashed over his head with his sword. Regina parried the blow and retreated a step as he seamlessly glided into a lunge, thrusting the tip of his sword toward her chest. She parried again, slapping his sword harmlessly to the side and riposted with a slash that caught his right arm. He cried out in pain and staggered back, but gathered himself quickly and advanced on her again.

For minutes they dueled, lunging, parrying, and slashing at each other. Regina found that Valgar's size belied his agility, for he moved with the grace of a man half his size. He was well trained, indeed.

Soon, however, he began to grow tired. His attacks took on a desperate fury. Sweat dripped down Regina's neck and down to the base of her spine as she defended herself from his mad assault. The sound of metal clanging and boots shuffling dirt filled the air. Their momentum shifted and reshifted, carrying the fight forward and backward several times before Valgar unexpectedly backed Regina against a tree.

Her eyes widened as she collided with the hard trunk, knocking the wind out of her. In the blink of an eye, Valgar advanced with a smile of victory on his face and thrust his sword violently at Regina in her moment of weakness. Barely recovered from the collision, she managed to parry weakly, causing his sword to slice her side near the hip. She bit back her cry of pain. Leaving nearly no time to react, Valgar drew back again and thrust his sword at her heart in what he thought would be the killing blow. But the pain of her wound gave Regina a burst of energy to twirl away from his attack.

The edge of his sword slid harmlessly against the trunk of the tree. With a grunt, he recovered to bring it over his head to slash at Regina's head. In one fluid movement, she came out of her twirl, caught his hand as it came down over his head, and thrust her sword through his heart. He fell back dead, leaving Regina holding her bloody sword in her hand utterly stunned and panting.

When realization washed over her at what she had done, Regina fell down to her knees beside the tree that had nearly cost her life and retched violently. Her skin turned cold and clammy as sweat rolled in beads down her brow. She vomited until she collapsed on her side dry-heaving, paying no attention to her wounds. When her sickness had passed, Regina rolled away from the tree and lay on the forest floor sobbing. Spent with exhaustion and blood loss, her head began to swim and she found her vision swirling into darkness. The last thing that went through her mind before her consciousness faded was a vision of Daniel's terrible, devastated visage when he would find her body.


	7. Revelation, Pain, and Promises

_**AN**_: _As promised, the next chapter! And Rumple, yay! I loved writing Rumple so much. He and Regina are my two favorites from the show, in no small part to the acting done by Lana Parrilla and Robert Carlyle. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter. =) Oh, and 10 brownie points to whoever figured out how I would veer events into canon. R&R!  
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_**Disclaimer**_: _I don't own "Once Upon a Time" or the characters that are portrayed within the show. I'm merely borrowing them for a while without thought or intent for my own personal gain._

Chapter 7 - Revelation, Pain, and Promises

It appeared that hours had passed when Regina came to still lying on the forest floor. The sunlight filtering through the leaves had changed direction and was almost vertical, as if the sun were standing directly overhead. Her wounds ached terribly, her head pounded as if to the steady tune of a hammer on an anvil, and her vision was still hazy. Leaning up on one elbow, she touched her lip and found it still oozing tiny droplets of blood. Then she fingered the hole where her blouse was torn, finding it soaked. She dared not touch her side - it ached badly enough as it was. The ground beneath her where her wounded side had been was wet with blood.

Around her, three of the four bandits lay dead in pools of blood. The sight nearly made Regina sick again. For a moment, her had swam. She assumed the lack of the fourth body meant that the man she had knocked out had awakened, fleeing when he found his comrades dead. The realization that one of the scoundrels had survived did surprisingly little to comfort or to frighten her. She supposed she was in some sort of unfeeling state of shock.

A glance at Valgar broke her numbness. He lay on his back almost exactly as he had fallen, as if her sword had frozen him solid when it pierced his heart. Right arm extended over his head, his hand clutched the handle of his sword with the stiffness of death. His left arm was tucked at his side, it's hand clenched in a defiant fist. His legs were spread at odd angles that would pain those who lived. Resting on an enormous root, his head was elevated so that Regina could see his eyes. Haunted dead eyes open and unblinking, stared back at her as if in condemnation. Her stomach roiled and tears pricked at her eyes. She had to bite back a bitter sob.

Suddenly, a shrill, childishly malevolent laughter rang out from the empty space in front of her. Proceeding the maniacal cackling was a thunderous explosion of sound and smoke. A very human shape began to materialize out of the hazy swath of purple. "Now, now," a high-pitched, sing-song voice said from within the dissipating cloud. "There's no need to shed tears over such a brute. You and I both know he got what he deserved."

Regina sat up weakly with a grunt, regarding the figure that stood before her with bleary eyes. He was short for a man, with a thin, oval face framed by shoulder-length curly brown hair. He had prominently sharp features. A long, narrow nose stood out from his face, which flared dramatically at the tip. Large, almost blackened reptilian eyes peered at her through slightly hooded lids. He dressed rather flamboyantly in dark brown leather pants, with a sparkling black and gold shirt peeking out from beneath an accented leather coat laced up to just below his sternum. The strangest feature about him was his skin, which appeared almost scaly, glittering a dull golden color nearly identical to the shirt he wore. Wisps of faint purple smoke still circled around him from his magical appearance.

Regina was not frightened. "Who are you and what do you want?" she asked. She suspected, however, that she knew who he was from what few stories her mother told of her hated past.

Tales of the mischievous, evil imp circulated far and wide through the Ten Kingdoms. Most accounts Regina had heard mainly focused on the consequences of his horrifying deals. Few, however, provided details of his appearance.

"I think you know who I am, dearie," he answered merrily, still not answering her questions.

For whatever reason, he seemed to be playing with her. "Why don't you just tell me your name!" Regina cried. After the day's ordeal, she was in no mood for games. Unbidden tears of frustration, pain, and anguish pricked at her eyes.

Her emotional state did not seem to phase the stranger, however. "Because," he trilled, "I want to hear you say it."

Eyes clamped shut, a lone tear streaked down Regina's pale face. She whispered the dreaded name: "Rumplestiltskin."

Chiming laughter rang out as the impish Dark One clapped his hands and danced with delight. He skipped merrily over to where Regina sat, chin tucked close to her chest, clutching her side.

"See, was that so hard?" he said. Producing a hankerchief from his vest, he snapped his fingers causing the fabric to instantly moisten with a foreign concoction that smelled like amplified liquor. Using his index finger, he gently tipped her face up and wiped at the blood that was still pooling on her chin from her cut lip. Regina could sense the immense power that Rumplestiltskin possessed wafting out from him in waves. She remained cautiously still, not wanting to provoke the fiendish creature in any way.

In a move that slightly startled her, he pressed his thumb to the wound and closed his eyes. Heat radiated from the tip of his finger, spreading through her injured lip and then down through the rest of her body like caustic fire. Regina's back stiffened. She sat rigidly transfixed by the mixture of agony and warmth that enveloped her. When it faded, she slumped back in a daze.

For a moment she sat motionless, breathing heavily, allowing her head to clear. Then she met his eyes. Now wide open, his large brown irises examined her with an extreme focus that filled her with dread. It was as if she could feel herself being drawn inexorably into the void of his widening black pupils.

Heart pounding, she cried out, skittering away from him. Separation began to immediately return Regina's senses to her. Amazingly, she found the pain of her wounds was gone and her head no longer ached, though she remained on the brink of exhaustion from stress and blood loss. Pressing her hand to her mouth, she found to her shock that the wound had been closed. Ever so gingerly, she traced her upper lip where the cut had been. There was no pain, not even any soreness. Her lip had been completely healed save a thin, indented vertical scar.

Regina fixed wary yet grateful eyes up to Rumplestiltskin, who stood a few paces away, now watching her passively. "Thank you. I don't know why you're here or why you're helping me, but thank you."

"It's of no consequence," he replied with his lilting brogue. "A simple enough wound to heal. I think you'll find your side to be mended as well."

Regina clutched at her side, discovering him to be correct. Her side was healed and free from pain. The imp's eyes crinkled in mirth at her slack-jawed expression. "Why?" she whispered, not know what else to say.

Rumplestiltskin grinned, revealing rows of withered, decaying teeth. "Let's just say I'm invested in your future."

"But why?" Regina pressed. "Is it because of what you did for my mother? She told me the story of how she came to be married to my father. I suspect it was in order to warn me away from dealing with you."

"Ah, but there are two sides to every story, are there not?" was his cryptic answer.

With a concerted effort, Regina rose to her feet, clutching the tree behind her for support. She leaned back against it and regarded the Dark One with wary eyes. "So why don't you tell me your side of the story?"

Rumplestiltskin stood silently, once again studying Regina for quite some time. One of his arms was crossed over his chest, the other resting against it while propping up his chin. His brow furrowed, eyes fierce as he contemplated whether or not to answer her query.

"Very well," he said suddenly, waving the hand that was under his chin without moving the arm. "Most of what the Lady Cora told you is true. She was the daughter of the miller in your father's fiefdom. Her father did lie to Lord Henry to increase his status. I did indeed spin straw into gold for her."

"In promise for me," Regina cut in. "You wanted her first-born child as payment for your services."

"I did at first," the imp retorted, then tisked, scolding her for interrupting him. "But your mother is a talented bargainer herself. She offered me a better deal than the one I originally struck with her."

Confusion descended over Regina's face. "So she never offered all her wealth? She never convinced you to agree to rescind your claim if she could correctly guess your name?"

"Indeed not," he scoffed as if the idea were abhorrent. "I would never make so foolish an amendment."

The crease between Regina's brows deepened. "Then what was the deal she offered?"

In a dash, Rumplestiltskin advanced until he stood nose to nose with Regina. He smiled eerily. "A favor."

The imp's breath brushed over her face as he spoke. It was cloying smell as she had anticipated, but rather dull and almost odorless. _Perhaps he uses some sort of spell to disguise the odor_, she mused. In any case, the view of his decrepit teeth up close was not one she wished to repeat any time soon.

"What kind of a favor?" Regina asked.

A sharp pain on her scalp caused Regina to cry out. She hadn't seen, nor heard him move, but when she looked at Rumplestiltskin again, she found him grinning madly, holding on to a single black strand of her hair. He held it between his index finger and thumb, then deposited it carefully as if it were a red diamond mined from the deepest dwarf mine into a small vial. Placing a stopper over it, he said: "That for one!"

Regina could not imagine what the Dark One would want with her hair. Whatever it was, she was sure it wasn't good. "My hair? Do I even want to know what you want with my hair?"

"No, I imagine you do not," he answered primly. "Even so, I wouldn't tell you."

"Why in the world not?" she scoffed. Her head began to pound again. "It's my hair, after all!"

"Is that all you do, dearie? Ask questions?" Rumplestiltskin sighed, half-agitated, half-amused by her inquisitiveness. He backed away from Regina slightly, allowing her to breathe normally again. But his eyes retained a dangerous glint. "I'm not going to tell you what I'll do with the hair. It was promised to me and I've collected." Rumplestiltskin had to restrain a chuckle at the growing fury in the beautiful young woman's brown eyes. "No one is privy to my plans and no amount of glaring is going to change that, dearie." Regina deflated. "As to your other inquiries, if you must know, besides the hair, I was promised a favor from you at an indeterminate time in the future for anything I wished...save your life."

"I'm afraid I don't have anything you would desire," Regina answered stiffly. "And you're not getting any more of my hair! I'm no longer welcome in my home. I ran away; if you truly know my mother, you full well realize the implications of such an act of defiance. My future husband is a stable boy. I don't say it to demean him. He and his family do well but are not rich as my father is. What can I possibly have, now or in the future, of value to you?"

The imp smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Such a mysterious answer elicited a terrible series of possibilities that ran rampant though Regina's mind. The worst of them was the possibility that he would ask what he had of her mother. Becoming emboldened to the point of rage at that thought, she unleashed her anger with a threatening voice. "If you think you'll get your hands on one of my children, you're mistaken. I'd sooner die! And do not make the error of underestimating me - I'd die fighting!"

Rumplestiltskin raised his hands innocently in a mollifying gesture. "Now, now," he said. "No need to jump to such conclusions. I've seen your handiwork." He gestured to the bodies of the bandits. "I have something else in mind from you entirely, but it is something that lies far in the future. You need not concern yourself about it at the moment. Not all favors I ask are diabolical, though all _are_ self-serving. After all, what good would bargaining be if I didn't benefit from the transaction, eh?" Childish giggles erupted from the imp.

Regina growled in frustration, the vein in her forehead beginning to throb. "So, we're back to the original question. Why are you here and what do you want?" Infuriated with the ability of this creature to talk in circles, her voice rose. "No more dodging the question and no more deflecting. I want an answer!"

"Such impatience and imprudence," Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "You are a fiery one, aren't you?" Smile fading from his lips, he nodded in acquiescence after a moment of thought. "Very well, dearie, I'll get to the point. I've been watching you, my dear Regina. As I said, I'm invested in your future. After all, the day you were born, I was there. It was part of the revised deal with Lady Cora. I held you in my arms not two hours after your birth."

Regina began to protest his assertion, but the Dark One held a hand up to silence her. "Whether you want to believe me or not is up to you. I assure you that I am not lying."

His tone convinced her of his veracity, so she nodded then gestured for him to continue.

"There was a reason I requested to be there," he began again. "When I hold a child in it's very first hours of life, I can see the paths of chance written in their eyes. It's a primal magic native to our world, much older even than that of the Dark One. When I read your eyes that day, I saw two roads set before you. One was very clear. It lead to a life in which you followed the course your mother carved out for you, descending into evil more heinous than even she could fathom. The other path, much less clear, followed the way your father fashioned.

"Quite astonishingly, you chose the latter path. I admit, when I see visions of the future regarding an individual, I never see one set possibility. There is always more than one road a person may take; there is always more than one choice to every decision one has to make. Almost always, a person favors one way or another. That is the way most clearly seen. I use this information to aid in my deal making."

Regina was confounded. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because, I want you to trust me!" Rumplestiltskin snapped. "Things have changed now! You're going to need my help some day, just as I shall need yours. The choice you have made has changed the course of the future for everyone. Everyone! You were the fulcrum upon which two futures hung: one certainly terrible and one uncertainly hopeful. You have tipped the scales in the unexpected direction. Possibilities now exist that wouldn't have otherwise."

"What kind of possibilities?" she asked, now genuinely curious.

"There you go with the questions again," he said, sighing then straightening. His eyes took on an intense, secretive quality. "With the choice of the first path, we would have become the greatest of enemies. Our war with each other might have even spread beyond the boundaries of our world. An opportunity now exists in which we might become allies. Beyond that, however, is the greatest possibility: redemption."

Regina was baffled. _What power do I have that would make such a powerful being want me as an ally? _she thought. _It's my mother who is powerful, not I. _Then she grasped Rumplestiltskin's last statement, which absolutely stunned her. "_You_ desire to attain redemption? That's absurd. You've done things for which there can be no redemption, much as you may strive for it."

"Not everything is as it appears, dearie," he replied, taking no offense to her comment referring to his deal-making. "I take nothing that is not willing to be given and give only that which is desired. But once, I was a man. Once, I had a son. Everything I've done, I did for him, so that he can be returned to me."

Rumplestiltskin paused for a moment to search Regina's eyes. He found now no condemnation in them, but the beginning of understanding. He latched onto it like a viper does his prey. "I know you're wondering why I'm telling you this. It's simple, really. I know you understand how far someone will go for the one they love."

Regina's heart sank into the depths of her chest. It appalled her that Rumplestiltskin seemed to know the depths of her heart, even more so that he found a common thread between them. She felt as if she had been punched in the gut.

Many times while holding onto Daniel as they fled through the Lonely Forest, she had envisioned her most feared scenario in her mind. Her imagination had run especially rampant after her nightmare in which Daniel's death was played out in such vivid detail. What Rumplestiltskin had said was true. She had discovered, to her horror, that there was really no end to the depths she would have descended into if Daniel had died. The discovery of the capability for evil in her heart had shaken Regina to the core.

Regina felt all the fight drain out of her. She could no longer condemn the Dark One for his actions when she knew that the same propensities resided in her own heart. "I do understand," she said with sympathetic eyes.

"Then there is the beginning of what I will ask," the imp replied, eyes hopeful for the first time. It was a strange look on such a malevolent being. "Remember this understanding. There will come a day in the future when you will meet a young man named Jefferson. Help him in any way you can and ask nothing of him in return. He will be necessary to fulfill your requirement to me. In return for your promise of this, I will give you news of great import, though you will be loathe to hear it. Will you do this?"

"I promise," she answered, nodding vigorously. "What is the news you have? Is it of my father?"

The Dark One nodded, his mouth stretching out in a grim line. He cast his head down, but he was otherwise silent.

"Is he well?" Regina prodded with alarm. "What's happened? Tell me!"

Rumplestiltskin's eyes met hers and she gasped at the dark emotion she saw there. He didn't have to speak in order to break her heart, for she knew what he was going to say. Tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her face. She began to shiver violently, not knowing if she could withstand the impact of what was about to be revealed. "No! Please!"

"I'm truly sorry, dearie," Rumplestiltskin answered sadly. "Two weeks after you left, Lord Henry was killed in a mysterious riding accident, though we both know it was no accident."

Regina cried out in desperation, crumbling to the ground against the tree behind her. She felt as if the grief she now felt and that which she had experienced the day she had read her father's letter had compounded into one giant ball of misery. She curled up in a ball at the bole and sobbed.

Rumplestiltskin neither said nor did anything, not knowing how to comfort Regina and not wanting to show weakness in front of such a potentially vital ally. He watched forlornly as the young woman grieved for a father she had loved so dearly, understanding her pain empathetically. He had felt an overwhelming, crushing grief when Baelfire had disappeared through the magical portal in the forest floor and into the land with no magic. He knew, however, that Regina would make it through her despair. She had a support system which he did not. Her fiance and his family would love her through her time of loss, just as she had his.

He hated to be callous, but his time with her was growing short and he had other news to impart. "I'm sorry dearie," he said forcefully, "but I need you to listen to me now. Are you listening?"

Regina looked up at him through bloodshot, hopeless eyes, but nodded.

"Good," he continued, "you know the plans your mother had for you and King Leopold?" She nodded again. "Her plans were her ticket to the power of the throne, a power for which Cora has long lusted. Your departure with Daniel destroyed those plans. But your mother is nothing if not resourceful. King Leopold still needed a wife and a mother for young Snow. Luckily for him, she knew just the candidate."

When Rumplestiltskin's words finally registered in Regina's grief-stricken mind, she let out another broken wail. "No! Not my mother. Snow!"

"Yes," he confirmed almost sadly. "Now you know why your father had to be removed from the picture. Your mother allowed the King to console her during her supposed grief. That opened a door she was quick to barge through. She ingratiated herself to him in every way she could, eventually making herself invaluable to Leopold. She even consoled Snow White over your absence. They were married two days ago."

Unbridled rage began to overtake Regina's sadness when she thought of her father's demise and of sweet, innocent Snow under her mother's wicked influence. Without giving Rumplestiltskin a second glance, she stood and began to stomp angrily back toward Sebastian. Her progress was abruptly halted when the Dark One's hand staid her.

"You mustn't act rashly," he said. "My time here is up. I have other things to attend to." He put both of his hands on Regina's shoulders and fixed her with a strangely steady gaze. The urgency in his voice convinced her to heed him, some of her anger fading. "You must return home and live your life. The time to face your mother lies far in the future. Snow White has a path of her own laid before her that not even your mother can bend or break. And she will need you by her side if she is to fulfill her destiny."

Regina took a deep breath, allowing most of the anger she had felt at her mother to melt away as she exhaled. An ember of hatred still flickered, however, and her sadness remained heavy. "Very well," she answered. "I will remember what you've said and do as you requested."

"That is all I ask," said Rumplestiltskin, straightening himself. "Until we meet again. Remember your promise!"

With a snap of his fingers, the Dark One disappeared, much the same way as he had arrived. Regina watched the purple cloud of smoke dissipate into the air, then began her trek back to where Sebastian was picketed. She reached the hedges within minutes, fighting her way back through them until she emerged in the alcove. After untying the reins from the tree branch, Regina mounted Sebastian with a great deal of difficulty. After such a torrent of emotions and the stress on her body, she was exhausted.

They traveled the road back to the southeast in uneventful silence. As time passed, Regina noted with alarm that she began to sway in the saddle and could barely hold her eyes open. All the adrenaline from her fight and the surging emotions from her conversation with Rumplestiltskin were now gone. She felt as though she were an empty husk.

Stubborn as she was, though, she would not surrender to weakness. Urging Sebastian onward, she drove them at a relentless pace. Within half an hour, they emerged from Amistrenel. The sun was past it's apex, beginning to descend to the west where it would sink behind the rolling horizon within hours. Regina took a deep breath, gathering what reserves of energy she had remaining, once again urging Sebastian forward.

He took off in a full gallop, beginning the trek back to the Benphray farm. Sensing his rider's condition, Sebastian pushed himself as hard as he was able, straining his muscles to the limit. His efforts were rewarded when they came in sight of the farm just as Regina begin to sway again.

Having seen and recognized Sebastian in the distance, Daniel ran out to meet them as they neared the training pen. As he drew close, he saw to his absolute terror that blood stained much of Regina's blouse on the left side and was splattered all over her collar and shoulder. Approaching Sebastian's side, he saw her sway heavily and he rushed to catch her as she slid out of the saddle and into his arms.

Gently guiding her to the ground, he cradled her neck with his elbow, smoothing a hand over her mussed hair and forehead. Her breathing was regular and her heartbeat strong when he checked her pulse. But her clammy, pale appearance frightened him. "What happened?" he asked.

Her brown eyes struggled to focus on him through narrow slits in her lids. "Mmm," she hummed, weakly raising her hand to draw her fingers across his cheek. "Bandits." She managed a faint grin. "I won." Darkness tugged at Regina, her eyes beginning to slide shut.

"Stay with me," Daniel whispered, tears in his eyes. "Stay with me, Regina."

"Always," she replied faintly, then slid into unconsciousness.

Daniel gathered her up in his arms and carried her all the way into the house, ignoring his uncle's offer of help and his aunt's horrified cry. Making his way carefully into his room, he gingerly deposited Regina into the bed, standing aside as his Aunt Vera came in and moved to the bedside to check her wounds. She shooed him out tactfully, explaining she would need to undress Regina to properly assess her side.

It seemed to Daniel like time halted as he stood outside the room waiting for Vera to finish examining Regina. He chewed nervously on his fingertips. To his great relief, Travis leaned quietly against the opposite wall, providing a silent strength and assurance that everything would be all right.

Vera emerged from the room some ten minutes later with a look of bewilderment and joy on her face. "She's fine," the pale-haired woman declared. "Exhausted, but fine. She's resting."

"Her wounds?" Travis asked when Daniel remained speechless.

"I've never seen anything like it," Vera confessed. "She was wounded twice: a cut on her lip and a deep slash on her left side. Deep enough to have nicked a vessel, I suspect. But the wounds are closed and healed as if months of healing had passed. There was magic at work - I'm sure of it - though I'm not about to question it."

Absorbing this information steadied Daniel's nerves. "Can I see her?" he asked quietly, blue eyes swimming.

"Of course," replied Vera. "She'll sleep for a while, probably the rest of the day and through the night."

He only nodded mutely, eyes clenching shut. _I almost lost her today_, he thought. A solitary tear escaped, running a jagged path down his cheek.

Vera reached out and cupped Daniel's face, stroking it tenderly as she had done many times before. It was a gesture that had always soothed him as a boy; it worked just as well now. "It's all right, my boy," she cooed. "Everything's going to be all right." Grabbing Travis' hand, Vera turned to escort her husband back down the hall, but turned and spoke to Daniel one last time: "Go and sit by her and hold her hand. She needs to know you're with her. Uncle and I will take care of everything. Go on, now." Then she turned and with a smile and a nod from his uncle, they departed.

Daniel crept back inside the room. Regina lay underneath the covers, her black hair unbraided and splayed across the pillows, setting a stark contrast from her pale face. Wan though she was, his fiance had never looked more beautiful and alive to him. Every time her chest rose, lifting the blankets with the gentle motion of breathing, it comforted him, reassuring him that she was still there with him.

For a dreadful moment as he had seen her blooded blouse, he thought he was going to lose her. That was a feeling Daniel never wished to repeat as long as he lived. It felt like his heart had ceased beating and all color in the world around him had faded into a lifeless gray. But by some miracle of magic, she had survived. Daniel was grateful.

As he sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed, he noticed that Vera had somehow managed to undress Regina and get her into one of her sleeping gowns by herself. His aunt was a kind, tenacious woman. He loved her for her thoughtfulness.

Taking Regina's slender hand between his own, Daniel studied her face. She was not so clammy as she had been. A faint pink hue was returning to her skin. With a sigh, he leaned back in the rocking chair, contenting himself to gaze lovingly at her. Her brush with death made him determined to commit her features to memory in order that he might never forget what she looked like.

Rocking lightly back and forth, Daniel began to speak of his day. He never for a moment relinquished her hand as he talked, passing the afternoon and into the night by her side.


End file.
